


Feather memories

by Dreigon



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Cute, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I dont want the additional tags become too big, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kinda, M/M, No Beta, OOC Lucilius, PLEASE read the notes in each chapter for extra tags/warnings, Primarchs are all kids, Slow burn i guess?, characters to be added as story progress, made up primarch stuff, rating might change as story progress, this might be a long one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-08-23 22:30:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20245654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreigon/pseuds/Dreigon
Summary: Growing up in the Astral facilities is rough, but at least Lucifer has Belial at his side to keep him company.(This was supposed to be a one shot but it got out of hand, I combined it with the other one (An adventure). Each chapter will have its own summary and warnings SO READ 'EM BEFORE CONTINUING. Please.)





	1. I told you so

**Author's Note:**

> **EXTRA TAGS/WARNINGS: Withdrawn like symptoms / Syringes / Charm usage / Light drug use nothing ugly / Beli and Feru are kids / There is a kiss and that's all **
> 
> This started as a one shot after being inspired by jp comics with Belial using his charm ability on Lucifer, but it just... kept growing. I decided to combine the second work (An adventure) after I realized they can be very much in the same place, as in, story I guess, and continuity.

A running, excited child, no older than thirteen years old, of dark hair and red eyes and a big grin was making way across the polished floors of the facility. From time to time, he looked around, searching, ignoring the cries from the other adult Astrals complaining yet again of this noisy and rambunctious child.

"Feeeeruuuu!", the kid exclaimed at full force. "Feru! Where are ya?"

He came to a stop when a door opened and a fluffy, white haired head poked out. It was another child like him, thinner and more graceful with a kind expression on his face, slightly taller, dressed with leggings, boots and a sleeveless shirt accompanied by long, fingerless gloves, a white sash kept in place with belts and six, small equally fluffy wings behind his back.

The second child smiled happily and waved.

"I'm right here, Belial.", he said.

"Feruuuu! Is 'Cilius with you?", Belial asked approaching him, beaming.

"No, I'm alone studying. He was called by the Council some time ago."

"Score!!!", he yelled. "I gotta show you something!! Let's go!"

Belial grabbed Lucifer by the hand and dragged him inside the room, closing the door behind them.

The study room was filled with papers and books and desks for such purposes, libraries stuck onto the walls with myriads of different books and big windows to let natural light pour inside, the walls and ceiling painted in white made the room far brighter than it might have been, all for the purpose of reading. 

There was a loveseat stuck on one of the windows with cushions at the edges of it. Belial made way to it and sat Lucifer there, the white-haired child putting his hands on his lap, confused but also expectant about what his friend had to show him so bad. The dark-haired boy stood in front of the other, dusting off the white uniform he was made to wear by their creator, swinging back and forth and grinning. 

“I have been practicing _that_ technique lately!”, Belial says, giggling. 

“Oh, but didn’t Lucilius tell you not to do it without his permission?”, Lucifer replied, concerned.

“Shh! It will be our secret, ya know!”, he giggled again, bright red eyes slowly glowing in a pink hue. “He doesn’t _have_ to know what we do aaaall the time~!”

Lucifer was not convinced, not because he believed Belial incapable of performing or using his powers when he wants to, but because he didn’t want his friend to get into trouble again. Belial was already famous among the Astrals for being a mischievous kid and a big prankster, most didn’t really stand having him around or having to babysit him whenever their creator wasn’t around to do so. Belial knew, it was easy to read the adult’s emotions and expressions but he didn’t care. Their disdain fueled his festering and unknown spite towards anyone who dared to speak bad of his creator and only friend. Bringing the attention to him and not Lucifer allowed him to study in peace. 

It was a small price he would pay for Lucifer.

Much like him, Belial was gifted and didn’t have the need to constantly stuck his nose into books or make so many papers to acknowledge this fact, just when Lucilius asked him to, and opted to laze around, explore the least known rooms in the facilities and practice the abilities blooming into him. Lucilius told him of the way he was created and an approximation of the extent of his powers, what he could do. He had been made to cheat, to lie, to deceive and lure others into his trap, have a way with words to make others do his binding and make his truths seem as lies. As such, one of the first things Lucilius asked him to work on was a simple charming spell. Belial took the task at heart and had been fine tuning it every day he was allowed to and, now, he was certain it would work! He just needed a willing test subject.

“Alrighty~!”, Belial exclaimed, his eyes now turned completely pink and looking straight at an expecting Lucifer. “Are you ready to be charmed~?”

Lucifer smiled, nodding, wings quivering softly behind him that made Belial almost lose concentration. Instead, he grinned, pink swirls coming from his eyes and vanishing in a smoke like fashion.

“_Anagenesis!_”, Belial shouted.

Pink orbs glowed bright as the magic worked, Lucifer being imbued by a strange but pleasant warmth feeling seeping into his body, like a soft caress. He shivered, not knowing what to expect exactly, his eyes shone in the same pink hue as Belial’s, the effect faded instants later and the only left over of the charm was a limbal pink ring around his irises. 

A few more moments passed before Belial stood straight, an ever wider grin adorning his face as he put his hands on his sides.

“Well?”, said excited.

“Um…”, Lucifer mumbled, tightening his grip on his lap. “It felt like you were petting me…”

“Mm…”, Belial rubbed his chin. “But do you feel any different?”

“A little bit.”, admitted the other boy, hopping down the loveseat and throwing himself at the arms of Belial, whom gasped and firmly held his friend over. “Heheh! You are very cute, Belial!”

A deep blush covered the dark-haired boy’s face, his eyes looking anywhere but Lucifer’s giggly form as the winged one tried to climb on the other at any cost. His arms snaked around Belial’s midsection and rested his head on the other, being a few inches taller had its benefits when Lucifer wanted to cuddle with him. 

Belial was not sure the charm even worked, or perhaps it did and _this_ is the result. He knew Lucifer was on the cuddly side but was never this affectionate with him or Lucilius. If the ability worked on someone like his friend then he was definitely on the right path. He couldn’t wait to show Lucilius that he had, in fact, mastered the very first task given to him. 

However, dealing with Lucifer was going to be a problem because as much as Belial is delighted that it worked, he didn’t know how long it would last. _That_ was going to be a problem in the long run. He groaned, the boy only hoped the effect doesn’t last too long and just wears off naturally. 

For the time being, he’s going to enjoy the attention Lucifer gives him.

It was easy for Belial to drag the charmed Lucifer out of the study room to explore the biggest garden lab in the facilities. They sneaked around the pillars, playing tag along the way, hiding from sight of other Astrals and even Lucilius himself when the man showed his face strolling down the corridors, nose stuck in some papers. Belial dared Lucifer to a race to the gardens without alerting him and, to his surprise, the boy accepted. Belial pondered for a brief moment if Lucifer was just feeling risky or was because of the charm.

Their little steps echoed in the hallways as they made their way to the garden lab, gasping for air but smiling widely as they run past Lucilius, hidden by the pillars as they did so. The man in question raised his head at the sound and, not seeing anything remotely out of the ordinary, became engrossed in his notes once. 

The kids laughed at their clueless creator.

“Hah! I win!”, Belial exclaimed, stepping into the garden lab first, taking loud and deep breaths, turning around and seeing Lucifer barely catching up to him. “Now! What should I claim as my prize~?”

“What?”, Lucifer whined between breaths, his wings dropped in exhaustion. “Th-That’s not fair! You never said anything about prizes!”

“Heheheh! My race, my rules!”, he replied putting his hands behind his back, humming, deep in thoughts. “How about a kiss?”

“A kiss?”, echoed Lucifer, recovering from the intense run. 

Belial grinned.

“Yup! That’s what I want!”

As with the hug from before, Belial didn’t expect Lucifer to throw himself into him and give him a small peck on his lips, lasting one brief moment that felt like an eternity. The dark haired boy blushed deeply again, not believing this was actually happening but thrilled at the same time. He found out Lucifer’s lips were as soft as he imagined. He didn’t push his luck and allowed the other to step back after finishing. Lucifer smiled warmly at him, wings fluttering softly as a sign of his own happiness.

“There!”, the white haired child called triumphantly, as if he had won the race instead of Belial. “So, what do you want to do now?”

It took a few moments for Belial to function properly again and not stumble on his words. Perhaps the charm only exaggerated Lucifer’s feelings and allowed him to act on them without inhibitions instead of artificially making him believe he _liked_ Belial that much.

Or maybe it did make Lucifer think he liked Belial that much.

They spent the remaining of the morning and part of the afternoon climbing the trees of the garden, playing tag and hide and seek, sparring between each other and grooming their wings after finishing, before going for seconds and thirds. 

They would rest under the fresh shadows of the trees, cuddled against each other, Belial curling on Lucifer’s side and smiling when feeling the soft, featherly wings envelop him in a warm embrace and a pleasant scent that made him feel safe. They would pluck tender and ripe fruits and share with each other, Lucifer would show Belial his own techniques and see how he could grow plants from thin air with his powers, something Belial watched in awe.

When they didn’t feel like doing anything in particular, Belial realized Lucifer had a hard time keeping his hands still and ended up, most of the time, with his arms around the shorter boy.

The dark haired boy often pondered the differences between the two, how much different they were created and how vastly opposite their purposes were. Belial ported a much bigger and muscled frame, despite being young and shorter, he was able to take a physical beating for a good while before yielding, as well as impart strong punches and kicks and generally be more of a physical attacker, someone to be in the front lines. Lucifer, on the other hand, seemed too lithe to do that sort of thing even if Belial knew he packed a punch as well. The white haired child was fast, very fast, and could subdue enemies with sheer willpower, not having to relay in his physical strength like Belial or the young Uriel. His powers surpassed any other of the Primarchs and it struck the envy of many other Astrals and it elevated Lucilius ego and pride, knowing no other Primarch or creature made up thus far could rival Lucifer’s slumbering and ever growing potential.

But Belial wasn’t necessary jealous, far from it. He admired Lucifer’s power and hoped to be like him one day in order to fight at his side, he looked up to the other boy more than he would like to admit, and enjoyed friendly competition in order for both of them to be and do better. He wouldn’t want to fall behind Lucifer or Lucifer fall behind him.

Belial wondered if Lucifer found his leatherly, bat like wings as nice as the dark haired boy found the featherly ones. They exuded a specific and pleasant warmth he had not been able to find elsewhere. He didn’t know if his bat wings could provide that same kind of feeling but always found himself too timid to ask about it. Now with Lucifer charmed, he felt the answer would be biased to take it as the truth. He was regretting testing his ability on Lucifer a little bit now, he wouldn’t be able to discern the truth from Lucifer trying to tell him things just to please him because of the charm.

How unfortunate.

The attention he was getting, though, was nice and Belial wanted more of it. It wasn’t that rare of Lucifer to show his affection but wishes he would do so more often but Lucilius always, always had to step in and tell them otherwise. Belial never understood why. He liked Lucifer, why wouldn’t he be allowed to shower him with his affection? Lucifer ended up not arguing for the sake of not upsetting their creator and it pained Belial because he could see how much it affected the featherly winged child. Even Lucilius himself started to put a certain distance between him and the two little Primarchs and they were already feeling it and neither liked it.

They wouldn’t press on, maybe get a temper tantrum here and there, but never demanded an explanation for the sudden change of behaviour from their creator, whom they adored dearly, they knew it would get them into trouble eventually, but the frustration was palpable. Sometimes, Belial would spend days not talking to Lucilius, simply acknowledging his orders and carrying on with his training and testing schedule, whereas Lucifer would simply withdrawn into himself and speak as little as he could, only replying to specific questions or when addressed over something.

Perhaps it was one of _those_ times for their creator, Lucilius oftentimes turns snappy and has a bad temper when things don’t go his way, especially if it concerns the High Council or the two little Primarchs in his care. 

Belial hummed, blinking and listening the slow, steady breath of his sleepy friend.

“Ah, so this is where you two escaped to.”

The deep, annoyed voice of a person entering the garden shook Lucifer awake, once he registered to _whom_ that voice belonged, Belial visibly flinching and trying to hide in Lucifer’s small wings. As if on instinct, they cocooned them for protection from any incoming threat.

A rather annoyed Lucilius made his way from the entrance of the garden up to the tree the boys were currently cuddled against, almost hidden from sight thanks to the myriad of other bushes and plants around the tree. The Astral tapped the bottom of his lance rather forcefully into the ground in front of them, a hand placed on his side, a frown and a scowl on his face as he looked down at the two little Primarchs.

There was an awkward silence between the three, no one said a word and, finally, Lucilius gave a deep sigh and sat in front of them.

“I’m not angry.”, the man started, placing the spear next to him on the grass, his other hand softly petting Lucifer’s quivering wings in an attempt to relax them. “You didn’t notify anyone where you were going and I panicked upon returning to the study and not finding Lucifer there.”

The children didn’t reply but peeked from between a sea of feathers. Lucilius smiled softly.

“Why don’t you two return to your studies? I promise to stay with you tonight and tomorrow, the High Council relieved me of some projects and have free time thanks to it.”

“You aren’t that angry then?”, Belial’s soft voice was heard from behind the cocoon.

“Just a little upset, that’s all. It will go away soon now that I know you are safe and unharmed.”, the Astral admitted, now placing both hands on Lucifer’s wings to softly part them and reveal the two hugging and timid children. “We can sp---Mm?”

Lucilius stopped mid sentence when he saw an odd color in Lucifer’s eyes, placing a hand softly on his cheek and then stretching the skin a bit with his fingers to take a better look at the pink limbal ring. He frowned, blinking in confusion.

“What in the world…? Lucifer, are you alright?”

“Oh!”, the child exclaimed, smiling. Belial looked like he was about to cry and Lucilius directed his attention to him, instead, not giving time for Lucifer to say anything.

“Belial. What did you do?”, the Astral asked in a rather preachy tone.

“His ability worked, that’s all!”, Lucifer replied and Belial could feel his heart jumping out of his ribcage, an intense fear suddenly draining all color from his face and the only thing he could do was to avoid Lucilius’ intense gaze and hide in Lucifer’s neck. “It’s so strong it can work on me now!”, Lucifer proudly stated and Belial wished he had a better filter as to what to say and not say.

“What!? Belial, is this true? Did you use Lucifer as a test subject _without telling me beforehand!?_”

But Belial couldn’t reply, he was far too scared of his creator.

“B-But Faa!”, Lucifer stuttered, resulting in pet name calling in hopes Lucilius would calm down. “It’s-It’s what you to-told him to do! An-And there was no-no one else---!”

“_Enough._”, the Astral barked, sighing deeply, running a hand on his face and then his temples, thinking. “...Listen…”, he said softly, knowing that just raising his voice and scaring them wouldn’t get him anywhere. “Listen you two, but mostly Belial...”, he continued, opening his eyes and watching Belial’s distraught expression and Lucifer who seemed ready to defend the other child from Lucilius’ wrath. “You two are special, you know that, right?”

The Astral rested a hand on their heads and petted them, ruffling their hair with affection, the children nodded.

“You two were created differently, with different purposes and powers. These powers _can_ and _will_ harm you if you are not careful, especially in these early stages where you are figuring out how to control and wield them.”, Lucilius explained as calmly as he could. The researcher side of him was urging to pick up Lucifer and bring him rushing down the laboratories to run down tests and check the extent of this new ability Belial inflicted into him. “We run tests in a controlled environment to prevent severe side effects and be able to study said effects without risks. I know you two hate them but this is for your safety, first and foremost.", he cupped their faces with his hands and smiled. “Do you understand that?”

“Ye-Yeah….”, Belial muttered under his breath, visible more relaxed than a minute ago. Lucifer only nodded back.

“Then, _please_ promise me you won’t do this again, especially not on each other like this. You two can see it as a bonding moment but if you are not careful enough, you can do irreparable damage.”, the man sighed, bringing their heads together. “This time around I will let it pass, but be warned, I won’t be so kind if this happens again.”

“You are not going to punish Belial, are you?”, Lucifer asked with a daring expression, the left wings trying to hide the dark haired child from Lucilius.

“No, I won’t, I promise I won’t.”

The walk back to the study room was done in complete silence. Belial was too conscious of what he had done and didn’t dare to mutter a word in front of Lucilius, whereas Lucifer was in more or less the same boat, his emotions in a turmoil for him to want to talk and so, both children walked behind the silent Astral. 

Belial knew he wouldn’t be let into the room after their creator found out about their little experiment and wasn’t that surprised when Lucilius dismissed him with a weak excuse, but he felt a strike of pain when he tried to engage with the other Primarchs and see how they turned on him, going elsewhere and leaving Belial behind. The little Primarch sighed, balling his hands into fists and digging nails into his palms.

He didn’t want to try anymore, he only wanted and needed Lucifer at his side but he was alone now.

Eventually, Belial found something to do while waiting; reading new Primarch blueprints he found in Lucilius’ office. Two of them dragged his attention and made mental notes to pester his creator later. When boredom hit him again, Belial hopped off the chair and walked down the facilities aimlessly, poking his head into the testing rooms where he wasn’t allowed and earning a few yells and eartugs from the working Astrals. 

It was tiresome not having something specific to do, he had plenty of energy and nothing to burn it on. He entertained himself by helping an Astral that Lucilius frequented lately and that kept him busy until the sun set over the skies. His creator has not called for him in all that time and Belial wasn’t sure he would be allowed to return. Defeated by the circumstances, the dark haired boy made way back to his room in order to get a snack and rest up. However, the possibility of sleeping alone frightened him more than Lucilius’ angered figure. 

Lucifer and Belial were created roughly at the same time, the former barely a week or so older than the latter, and ever since then they have been inseparable. So much so, they begged their creator to be allowed to sleep in the same room and were granted the rights to have two beds in it, a bit too cramped for two rambunctious kids to live in. It didn’t matter since they usually sleep next to each other on the same bed as it brought them comfort and safety. The idea of having to sleep alone even for one night bothered Belial to no end. 

The food that had been placed in a small desk for him didn’t taste that good and he changed into his pajamas soon afterwards. It was still relatively early for bedtime but there was nothing else to do. The books didn’t entice him and there was no friend he could play-fight with. 

The room was dark, with faint moonlight creeping from between the curtains cascading down to the floor. Belial snuggled under the covers, burying his face into the pillow, trying to fall asleep, but he just couldn’t. 

He was worried. 

Lucifer didn’t show any kind of side effects, as Lucilius called them, while they hung out, Belial knew he was just fine, really, but his mind and his heart had different ideas about it and he didn’t know who to listen to. After spending what seemed like an hour or so in bed, Belial kicked the covers and quickly put on some espadrilles and sprinted out of the room, down the hallways.

He reached the study room rather fast and noticed the opened door. Carefully taking a peak, he sighed when he found it empty. They weren’t there, of course they wouldn’t. The next obvious place would be somewhere in the labs, one of the places he really disliked being but found renewed courage if it meant he had a chance to see his friend. Sneaking around like he always does, Belial checked every single room he could get into and found no traces of his creator, even daring to ask one of the late owls about him and receiving puzzled looks and negative answers. 

That meant they could be in only one place this late at night.

Belial readied himself, he hadn’t been in Lucilius room that many times, neither have Lucifer, it was one of those areas permitted but also restricted at the same time, they only visited when they were called personally by their creator if he needed to discuss certain subjects in private. He preferred to spend time with the two Primarchs in better places than a room Lucilius barely called his own. 

And so, taking deep sighs and trying to calm his accelerating heart, Belial was on the verge of knowing the whereabouts of Lucifer when he heard him, eyes widening in surprise and horror.

For a few seconds he was unable to move and then, approached the door and placed an ear against the keyhole, frowning. It was indeed Lucifer who was crying on the other side but, why? What happened? The dark haired boy grew impatient and uneasy but didn’t want to just barge inside, fearing making things worse for Lucifer. Instead, ever so slowly, he managed to open the door and push it open enough for him to discern the muffled words his friend was muttering under his breath. 

His eyes laid on the sitting form of Lucilius, disposed of the usual white ample robes, cradling in his arms a shaking and sobbing Lucifer. The man’s attention was entirely on his creation and Belial took advantage of that to open the door further, noticing a metallic table at Lucilius’ side with a platter, a half empty glass bottle and a syringe. 

“Shh, shhh…”, the Astral hushed in soft voice, rubbing Lucifer’s back and petting his wings ever so often. “It’s alright, it’s alright…”

“Bu-But what if he really doesn’t like me!?”, Lucifer cried out, little hands grasping at Lucilius’ hair and pulling in desperation. 

Lucifer’s eyes were swollen and red after crying so much, tears running down his face and the pink limbal ring still present around his irises but now, even his pupils were dyed with this same color. He pulled into his creator’s hair and let out a frustrated scream as more tears rolled down his cheeks, body and wings shaking.

“I really like Belial I don’t want him to leave me I want to be at his side forever but what if he doesn’t feel the same…”, Lucifer’s way of talking was desperate and urgent. 

“I’m sure Belial enjoys being with you.”, Lucilius reassured, wincing every time Lucifer pulled on his hair. “He’s still here, isn’t he?”

“BUT WHAT IF HE LEAVES TOMORROW I DON’T WANT TO BE ALONE!”

“Lucifer…”, the Astral sighed, picking up the half filled syringe from the table, feeling the Primarch whine and try to get away from it. “...I’m sorry Lucifer but you need another shot. Your fever has not gone down and I’m worried.”

“NO! I DON’T WANT IT I WANT BELIAL! OW!”, Lucifer cried out, flinching when he felt the needle. “Why didn’t he come to visit…”

“I already explained to you that I asked him not to, because I---”

“He doesn’t like me, isn’t it…”, Lucifer interrupted, eyes still shedding tears but looking vacant as he clung to dear life onto his creator. “Isn’t it…”

Lucilius sighed again, reclining on the chair and glaring at the ceiling above him. 

He wasn’t necessary angry at Belial for trying his spell on Lucifer, he was just annoyed he had to deal with the side effects with no way to know the effects without examining the ability in the first place. He tried different drugs to alleviate the symptoms back at the laboratories but nothing seemed to work. Instead of submitting Lucifer to more pain, Lucilius decided to bring him back to his room and try to console him the old fashioned way, as much as he was allowed to anyway. He didn’t exactly have any kind of experience in it but Lucifer yielded slow results to the reassurance of his words at times and it kept him trying. There had been a point in where Lucifer completely broke down and had not been able to recover, and has been in the same state for well over two hours, giving him light tranquilizers but due to the hysterical state Lucifer was in they did little to nothing. At this point, Lucilius was running out of ideas of what to do and simply hoped Lucifer tired himself out.

Meanwhile, Belial watched the entire exchange and was now crying as well, feeling extremely guilty and powerless to stop whatever was stressing his friend out, but also scared to death if he ever dared to come into the room after the mess he did. Belial didn’t fear many things, but an angered Lucilius was at the top of his list. Seeing his friend suffer because of him, though, it made that fear wash away in a heartbeat as he dashed inside the room, crying and calling for him.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!”, Belial cried out, dropping to his knees against Lucilius’ legs.

“What are _you_ doing here!?”, he barked, jolting in surprise and holding Lucifer tight in his arms.

But Lucifer squirmed and twisted around, almost kicking even as he pried himself away from his creator and fell on his butt on the floor, quickly crawling to the sobbing Belial and hugging him as closely as he could, rubbing his face against the other’s head, smiling despite the tears. Belial hid his face on Lucifer’s chest and cried his heart out, embraced by both small arms and the feathery wings he adored so much, apologizing as much as he could and, this time around, it was Lucifer who was shushing him with soft words of reassurement. 

Lucilius was at a loss, he didn’t know what exactly transpired and was debating if separating them to prevent further symptoms but the sight of his beloved creations hugging and calming each other down dissuaded him from doing so. He leaned on his chair, gaze locked into them and runs a hand through his hair, feeling the exhaustion seeping into his body already. He could see how Belial now proceed to return Lucifer’s embrace as he sat on his lap and how the wings provided them some sort of privacy as they reveled in each other's presence. He just wanted to know _why_ this was happening. The spell was most likely the issue.

“Belial?”, Lucilius called out tentatively in a whisper. He saw the wings flinch. “Can you tell me what kind of spell you used on Lucifer? It would help him if I knew what I’m dealing with.”

His dark hair poked from the top of the wings and then the two, crying red orbs. Belial barely dared to look straight at Lucilius, even though the man in question wasn’t really angry whatsoever, just exhausted. This made Belial calm down a little bit.

“I used a charm spell…”, he shyly admitted. “You told me to create one and I wanted to try it out with Feru…”

“Yes, indeed I did.”, Lucilius replied, lifting himself from the chair and sitting down on the floor in front of his creations. He wrapped his arms around them, sitting the boys on his lap. “Remember what I told you in the garden lab?”, he asked, Belial nodded, Lucifer glared. “Lucifer is having side effects from your spell and I have been trying to counter it to no avail.”, he continued. “I didn’t think having you around would help but I’m willing to try it out, because I pretty much run out of ideas at this point.”

Belial’s little surprised face almost made Lucilius chuckle, he only managed a small smile.

“Bel can stay, then?”, it was Lucifer who spoke first, though, with a small hint of hope.

“For the night, yes, it seems he will do you better than what I have been giving you for the past two hours.”, he smiled, rubbing their backs and then ruffling their hair. “Ah, right.”, he added a moment later, grinning, thinking of something that could work to counter the spell. “Belial, would you be so kind as to explain to Lucifer that he is wrong about you?” 

“Th-There’s no need, Faa!”, Lucifer mumbled, suddenly embarrassed. 

“But you _just_ were complaining about how Belial doesn’t like you.”, Lucilius teased.

“What! That’s not true!”, Belial replied, very offended. “How can you think that, Feru? I really like you, you know! You are my favorite friend!”, he grinned, tears almost forgotten to both of them. “You gave me a kiss and all!”

“Oh?”, this time it was Lucilius turn to raise his eyebrows and chuckle at the sight of his creations blushing deeply in embarrassment. “What’s that about a kiss I’m hearing?”

The mood lightened a bit once Belial and Lucifer stopped crying and spent the next hour or so retelling their eventful day to Lucilius. The Astral listened carefully as he held both boys on his lap and drifted slowly to a sweet slumber after exhausting all his strength trying to deal with a distraught Lucifer. 

Considering the circumstances the boys got themselves into, Lucilius figured it would do them good if they just slept in his bed instead. After closing the door of the room, he rummaged through his wardrobe and tossed a baggy, old robe at Lucifer for him to change and when they were ready, he tucked them both and covered them with blankets and covers while he dropped his tired self on the divan. Using a spare cover Lucilius sighed as he hit his head on the cushion, closing his eyes and hoping the spell’s effect wore off by morning. 

The Astral smiled softly upon listening to the two boys whispers as they talked under the covers, careful to not disturb the slumber of their creator and slowly, they drifted into a peaceful sleep, cuddled against each other.


	2. An adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Belial and Lucifer explore the more misterious areas of the facilities.
> 
> **EXTRA TAGS/WARNINGS: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse**

The facilities were quiet that day, everyone stuck deep into researches, tests, examinations, projects and thesis. Deadlines looming close onto their heads made the Astrals work intensively day after day, the council was hard pleasing at times and avoiding their anger was everyone's priority. Working together for the common goal let the Astrals manage with each other in relative peace.

Lately, the council were toying with ideas for new primarchs, laying low and retreating from their usual nagging as they mused with concepts, a momentary relief for the scientist. The ones who already finished their tasks basked in the little free time they were graced with before returning to work, others rested in between projects without remorse or fears of loud scolding at their ears telling them to return to work. Other schedules had been either forgotten or ignored, pushed back to a better date. This meant Lucilius decided to not run maintenance day for the boys, it wasn't a priority right now after the last successful reading, and the council wasn't hungry for results and information for one so soon.

The premise of these new primarchs in the making spiked Belial's curiosity ever since he heard his creator mutter about it, the reason also why he snooped around Lucilius' office in search for a clue of what the man had been working on, finding several notes stashed in one of the drawers of the desk, spreading them over it to look over at the different ideas his creator had in mind. He noticed none of them had purposes as of yet, perhaps because it was still early stages, but Belial was interested nonetheless. 

What a perfect day to look for adventures when his creator and everyone else was too busy to pay attention to him.

Belial had a general idea of where the primarchs were stored. When creating a new primarch, the Astrals required certain machinery to preserve and keep the bodies in stasis as they meddle with all kind of details and parameters, to keep the body stable during the procedure, especially when it was time to try out their future cores. As volatile as the process is, it needed to be relatively far away from the main labs just in case and, oftentimes, the basements were the perfect place to keep and activate them as they run the usual examinations. Belial faintly remembered waking up in a dimly lit room, full of strange tubes and capsules and noises around. He also remembers the path Lucilius took when they exited and made way to the main labs, perhaps he can use it again.

But, what kind of adventure would it be if he has no partner in crime for it?

It took a couple of tries to convince Lucifer to tag along, the winged child had been sitting most of the morning studying as always in the white room he frequented and was thrilled to go with Belial, but as soon as he mentioned where he wanted to go, reluctance and fear rose into his eyes. The last time they tried to go out of their way they ended up being scolded and not enjoying it at all, with severe consequences despite Lucilius’ words. Lucifer was not angry at Belial for what happened with the failed spell test but wished to take things slow.

"Cooome oooooon~!", Belial chanted, laying on top of the desk, head resting on his hands and looking straight at Lucifer, waving his legs back and forth, impatient. "It will be fun! Aren't you slightly curious what 'Cilius is working on?"

Lucifer frowned, placing the book he had been trying to read in front of his friend and sighed, wings dropping a little.

"I am, but that doesn't mean we _have_ to look around without permission. If you want to hang out with me we can do something else."

Belial moaned, rolling on his back and huffing.

"Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaase~! Pretty pleaaaaaase?"

"What did you see in Lucilius' notes you are so interested, anyway?"

As if Belial had been waiting for it, his eyes shone with delight, turning himself over onto his stomach once more and grinning.

"Fallen primarchs! Like me!", he giggled. "It's so exciting! I am the only one of a kind right now, when I saw the notes I _knew_ I had to take a look!"

Lucifer sighed, Belial's grin grew wider.

"Well...", the winged child started, fidgeting around. Belial's eyes widened. "I guess... I guess it would be alright, then..."

"YES!"

Belial jumped off the desk and took Lucifer's hand, quickly dragging him from the study room at lightning speed. He only took one look around to realize the lack of adults roaming in the hallways and make haste to their destination, unaware of the eyes spying from behind a pillar just in front of the room they were in moments ago. Soft, pastel blue wings quivered, curling around the frame of a small girl, worry painted on her face as she watched the boy's back get lost behind a wall as they turned. Her white, gloved hands balled into fists, softly tapping the polished floors with equally white boots, as if unsure whether to follow them or not. She whirled, her long, blue open skirt on the front moving with her, resting against the pillar, looking down and seeing the pristine white leotard she always wore, fidgeting with her fingers, deep in thought.

After a few moments pondering, she gave a loud sight, straightening herself. The girl hopped into the hallway and, nodding to herself with renewed resolve, she went after them.

~*~

Along the way they had to avoid several Astrals that prowled in the open. While they were preoccupied with their own matters, the boys still took a lot of care to not make noise and went by unnoticed. Only one time had they been close to being found but were saved by the bell as the Astral returned to their office after mumbling something about forgetting an important material, giving them the opportunity to dash through to their next location.

The further from the main labs they went, the emptier the place. Usually, the storage room would be visited when there was a project being worked on. There were several of these rooms across the basement of the laboratories, each one for different kinds of purposes, some getting more use than others. Right now, the main focus after the primarchs were the creation of different kind of primal beasts, with few of them once designated to examine the Fallen, a type of primarch named after Belial’s creation. However, he was the only one of his kind produced so far, the rest of the primarchs took after Lucifer in terms of appearance, parameters and other details.

As they tweaked with Belial's parameters, none was able to grasp or even want to try to stabilize a core as fickle as his. While Lucifer's one had its fair share of instability, they were able to control it in a timely manner, no such thing happened during Belial's creation and it took the man himself to stabilize the power swirling without control inside the small, dark sphere floating on his hands. In time, the core calmed down enough to be placed into a new vessel.

The scientists had been wary about the materials Lucilius used in the creation of the first Fallen and were not too keen on experimenting with it for how volatil Belial's core came out. Like this, the main focus shifted immediately and the concept of the Fallens was pushed to the side in favor of the more stable Primarchs. Knowing this, it made sense why Belial was excited about these two new, and perhaps even more, Fallen prototypes he found out, and why he wanted to see them as soon as possible.

Lucifer didn't understand why the rush, they could just wait and see when the projects are finished but, at the same time, this might be the only moment for Belial to be connected with someone more similar to him in terms of conception. Perhaps he could convince Lucilius to keep going with them, the man was able to pull it off without too much trouble in the end, but Lucifer wondered if the council would agree to it. He didn't speak his mind that much and might not understand a lot of adult stuff, but he knew disdain and anger when he sees it and every time someone from the council visits Lucilius, he could see in their eyes how much they hated each other.

If Lucilius was working on some kind of Fallen project, he either had the council approval or was doing it behind their back. At the thought, Lucifer's face twisted with worry and fear. This might be crossing the line far too much.

"What's up, Feru?", Belial's voice brought the other child back to the present. "You look like you seen 'Bubs around."

Lucifer shrugged, he didn't know if he should express his thoughts right now, they were in front of a large metal door and Belial had his hand on the handle already. Instead, he shook his head and smiled, urging his friend to continue.

The room was medium sized and had few large testing tubes stuck on the walls, separated by a small apparatus with wires connecting them at its sides. Some were turned on, others were turned off, others were open and empty, others had water bubbling but nothing on the inside. There was a large control panel on the opposite side the boys entered and four smaller pods in the middle of the room; two open, the other two were firmly closed and were being monitored by the machines at their side. Everything was dimly lit, the only light present came from the ceiling lamps and the few tubes turned on, giving off an eerie sensation to the room. Lucifer shuddered at the sight, definitely not liking the idea of staying too long in it.

Belial was the first one to rush inside, eyes open wide in excitement as he ran towards the tubes against the wall, simply watching in awe, even if they were empty or unused. The mere notion of just discovering something like this on their own was reason enough for him to be happy. He turned to Lucifer, still in the doorway, and beckoned him to come closer with a grin. The winged child clung to his friend once he reached Belial and they both started to walk alongside the walls, eventually seeing that, indeed, one of the tubes had a large, curled creature with grows alongside their body and two, large coiled tails. Despite the initial fright, Lucifer couldn't deny that he was interested in what they found out. He approached the tube and stared at the creature inside, suspended in the bubbling liquid with cables attached to its body, cablesLucifer recalled seeing when he first woke up. The creature was slumbering.

"This is so cool!", Belial whispered, unable to stay still.

"Is this one of the projects you saw?"

"Nope! But I can feel it! Whatever this is, we have some similarities!", he grinned, circling the tube as much as he could, looking at the creature. "I think _these_ are the new Fallens...", Belial commented, turning around towards the smaller pods in the room.

The dark haired boy walked towards the closest one that was functioning, finding inside a rather tall and thin child, dressed with black leggings and sleeveless shirt, long ashen colored hair with a few feathers sprouting from it and one, lonely black wing growing from the back, with more black feathers covering the right arm. Much like the creature they saw before, the child was in a deep slumber. Belial hummed, leaning over the glass of the pod and admiring from the outside, resting his head on one of his hands, tracing his eyes over the black featherly wings and featherly arm. He could feel it, his core felt that similar power pulsating within the other child and he smiled.

"What do you think, Feru?"

"Not like me or the other Primarchs, for sure.", Lucifer smiled warmly, resting his arms on the pod and head on them. "I hope Lucilius carries on with them, I want you to have a lot of friends like you!"

Belial smiled, puffing his cheeks at the overwhelming happiness swelling in his chest. Timidly, the dark haired boy hopped softly and gave a light and quick kiss to Lucifer's forehead, making the latter giggle and blush.

"Okay~!", he said, taking off and going to the other pod. "Let's s--Uwah!?"

"What's wrong!?", Lucifer cried out as he approached Belial, who stared at the pod in shock. Following his gaze, the winged child gasped out loud.

Inside the pod rested another child, smaller in shape and lean, of fair skin and curly brown hair, dressed in the same clothes as the first child they seen, with two small and fluffy equally brown wings growing from their back and two, bright red eyes looking straight at them.

After the initial surprise, Belial blinked a few times as if to reassure himself he wasn't just seeing things and, in fact, the child in the pod was staring back. Besides him, Lucifer fidgeted around and leaned over the pod to take a better look, the child inside instantly fixating their gaze on him but didn't say or move at all. Lucifer hummed, spreading his wings around and seeing, with interest, the smaller brown wings trying to imitate but the only thing they managed to do is quiver. He tilted his head, hoping to see yet another reaction but the child didn't budge at all, blinking one or two times as they watched Lucifer move around, barely moving their head as well to take a better look when the white-winged child almost disappeared from their sight.

Enthralled, Lucifer couldn't take his eyes away either, trying to wrap his head around the curious child inside the pod that had an equal interest in him. He flashed a timid smile, but no reply was given. He waved softly, and nothing happened. Lucifer's wings dropped, disappointed and sad.

Belial, on the other hand, was fuming slightly, already certainly jealous with no apparent reason. He tapped on the glass, hoping to get a reaction or even attempt to drag their attention but those red orbs were simply glued to Lucifer.

"Mm, I wonder why this one is up and the other isn't...", Belial mumbled, almost absentmindedly, frowning that Lucifer has not said anything and was observing the child still. "Wow, seems you have a fan already... They ain't taking their eyes off you, Feru.", he said in a bit of a mocking and angry tone, something Lucifer didn't really catch on.

"I wonder why.", was his reply, as if Belial merely made a comment on the obvious rather than apply some sort of sarcasm. Lucifer fluttered his wings and giggled when he saw the brown wings attempt to do the same. "Has the other one open their eyes too?"

Momentarily forgetting his anger and other feelings, Belial arched his eyebrows and skipped towards the other pod quickly, shaking his head.

"Nope! Still sleeping!"

"That's because it's _not_ their time to awake. What are you _two_ doing here?"

A shiver run down the boys spines, Lucifer's wings puffed up in response to the voice echoing in the room and Belial's bat-like wings sprouted immediately to face the upcoming threat, shrieking. They turned and saw Lucilius walking towards them, an exhausted expression on his face, and a pink featherly-haired girl walking behind him, clinging to the flowing robes. The Astral gave a deep sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"Where did I mess up for you to come so lawless...?", he muttered under his breath. “Can’t say I’m surprised to find you guys here, though. You were sticking your nose in my office again, weren’t you, Belial?”, the Astral asked, approaching the main panel, the girl looking back briefly as she was still at Lucilius' side when they passed against the other little primarchs. “Mm, seems you didn’t touch anything, that’s good… Now.”, he walked to the boys. “Mind telling me what in the world are you doing here?”

Belial's wings tucked behind his back, much like his hands and he swung softly back and forth, avoiding Lucilius' gaze. Lucifer walked to his side shortly after they were addressed, his wings now looking like always did.

"...We came to explore, that's all.", Belial replied.

Lucifer had other thoughts in his mind.

"How did you find us?", was his inquiry instead.

A bit taken aback, Lucilius blinked a few times, gesturing at the girl.

“Gabriel came to tell me right away. And good thing she did.”

“Snitch!”, Belial yelled, angry. “You are a snitch! Why did you go and tell Faa where we go!? What, are you jealous I get to hang out with Feru all the time, eh?”, he finished with a rather mocking tone.

Gabriel frowned and looked like she was about to cry but steeled herself instead, clinging to Lucilius’ robe.

“Stupid!”, she yelled back. “You got in so much trouble last time!”, she sniffed, her wings shivering. “I-I don’t wa-want you guys to-to get punished by the co-council again!”, she sobbed, covering her form with her wings. “So-So I went to-to get Faa...!”

Lucilius sighed, he remembers how the council decided for themselves to ‘discipline’ the boys after what happened no matter what he said. He had to sit through the entire ordeal, defeated and beaten. The council can be cruel when they want to and impart judgement as they see fit. He was thankful he got here first before anyone else. He kneeled next to the sobbing primarch and petted her head.

“It’s alright, Gabriel.”, he whispered. Then, looked at Belial with an intense glare. “Well? Are you going to apologize or not? You made her cry, after all.”

The dark haired boy flinched, wings going stiff behind his back. He averted his eyes, blushing in embarrassment and also because he got slightly touched by Gabriel’s words and actions. He thought the other primarchs didn’t like him.

“Okay, fine.”, he said, giving them a look. “I-I’m sorry I yelled and called you a snitch. But you aren’t too nice either with me! What gives?”

It was Gabriel’s turn to flinch, her wings dropped a bit and she returned Belial’s stare with a sad expression.

“I’m-I’m sorry about that…”, she whispered. “I want to be friends with you too but… um…”, she blushed and disappeared behind the Astral. “Yo-You don’t let m-me… um… I-I’ll treat you better, I promise!”

Lucilius arched an eyebrow, looking between Gabriel and Belial, having a general idea of what was going on between them. However, this was not the time or place to discuss it further. He stood up, petting Gabriel again and turning to the boys.

A small shine from within a pod dragged his attention away.

The Astral approached said pod and with annoyance saw two red orbs locking onto him, sighing yet again.

“Mind telling me why is he awake?”

“We don’t know.”, Lucifer said. “Neither Belial or I touched anything.”

“Uh, I see.”, Lucilius could trust and believe Lucifer’s words this time around, especially when there was no spell involved. He rubbed his chin, looking at the pod.

“Why does the child not respond? We tapped the glass and everything…”, Lucifer asked, timidly standing besides his creator.

“He is not conscious.”, Lucilius explained.

Lucifer leaned over the capsule, the other two little primarchs doing the same but the red eyes were glued on the eldest of the three.

“Something disturbed his stasis, a very strong stimuli from the outside shook his core awake.”, his fingers rapidly tapped on some keys on the side of the pod. “Don’t worry about him, he will be fine. Primarch’s cores tend to wake up from time to time during the creation process.”, tapping the last key, the pod glowed and soon enough, the child closed his eyes, back to sleep. “Good. Now, get _out_.”, he barked.

Lucilius took a couple more minutes to finish checking everything out before leaving, the three little primarchs waiting for him outside against the wall in silence. Once he closed the door, the Astral lead the children towards the main labs, hoping to cross paths with no one. 

Nothing out of the ordinary happened while they were away, in fact no one seemed to notice Lucilius absence up until someone required to see him. By the time they returned it was a couple of hours past lunchtime and the hallways were a bit busier than during the morning. The Astral leading the children huffed, annoyed at the loud noises echoing, paying no mind to the ones trying to call out of him and continuing with his set path. 

They dropped Gabriel off in her room, her creator had been worried for a while about her whereabouts and was glad to have the water primarch back, safe and sound. Lucilius simply nodded and left, trailed by Lucifer and Belial who waved at Gabriel goodbye, the girl smiling back.

Lucilius intended to drop off the boys in their room as well but they begged to know about the primarchs they saw back in the room, somewhat convincing the exhausted man to have lunch with them. The Astral figured they would be much more comfortable talking back in his quarters and so, once both primarch and fallen had received their food (Lucilius picked the first thing he managed to get his hands on, he really didn’t care) the three of them made a beeline to the Astral’s room.

“Do they have names yet?”, Lucifer asked, taking a spoonful of his food and straight to his mouth.

“No, we name them when the project is about to finish.”, Lucilius replied, sitting in front of the boys on the desk. Belial was happily munching down his own meal. “I still have to run more tests on them before that but I haven’t the time to do so lately.”

“Can we name them?”, Belial dared to ask with a smile.

The Astral was about to decline but rubbed his chin moments later. He arched his eyebrows, thinking.

“That’s… not a bad idea, actually.”, to prevent the robes from staining, the man took them off and folded them on a chair next to him. “Not if I consider how they were made…”

“Well, how were they made?”, Belial demanded to know, impatiently.

“The one with ashen hair and black wings was made with similar materials as you, Belial, down to the Dark Essence you possess too.”, Lucilius looked at his own food but really didn’t feel like eating right now. Instead, he focused his thoughts on the boys and his inquires. “I want to revive the Fallen Project and show it can produce equally powerful primarchs in the likeness of Lucifer.”, he looked at Belial. “After all, the two of you _are_ the strongest around here.”

“Of course we are! You made us!”, Belial proudly stated, grinning.

Lucifer hummed, wings quivering.

“What about the other? The little one with the red eyes and brown hair?”

“Mmm… That one… I’m not sure what to do with him.”, Lucilius answered honestly. “You and him have a couple of things in common, I used the same materials and Light Essence, as well as some left overs from the refinement of your core… However, he can be a good vessel for Dark Essence as well.”, while not necessarily hungry, Lucilius at least remembered to pick up something to drink. “I wonder if that was the reason he woke up…”

“What was it?”

“His own core might have sensed yours and reacted on instinct.”, the Astral replied. “He wasn’t conscious, his core simply alerted him of your presence.”

“So, he’s like… me?”, Lucifer asked, a shy smile on his face. Belial frowned, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Lucilius.

“In a way, yes, but you are still two completely different individuals.”, he took a sip of his drink. “The project is currently on hold, I’m the only one working on it, as such I have not wondered about their purposes extensively as I had done with the two of you.”, he rested his head on one hand and sighed, rubbing his eyes with the other. “So, any name ideas?”

“I want my brethren to be named like me!”, Belial said. “Not _my_ name but something similar!”, he put a finger on his chin, tapping it softly, looking up and thinking. “Sa… Mmm… Sariel!”

Lucilius hummed in approbation, giving a half smile. Then, turned to Lucifer.

“And you? What would you want to name your brethren?”

The winged child’s eyes widen in surprise, fidgeting in place. 

“Um… I-I don’t know…”, Lucifer looked around, recalling the many books he had read, trying to remember anything that caught his attention. “...Well…”

“Go on.”

“....I-I like the name Sandalphon, I read it over one of those really old books you have in your office.”, Lucifer said.

Lucilius arched an eyebrow, surprised the boy would find interest in books other than the ones that were given to him either via the council or other Astrals. The man almost forgot he had books in his office with how little attention he pays to his surroundings most of the time. 

“I believe I do remember that book…”, he whispered, smiling. “That seems fitting. So!”, he exclaimed. “Sariel and Sandalphon. I will make sure to write it down in their files and introduce them as such the next time I get a council meeting.”

“Yeah!”, Belial shouted, excited, Lucifer’s wings quivering in delight next to him. “Does that mean we can vis---”

“Absolutely _not_.”


	3. The man in the window

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer befriends a strange and charming man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **EXTRA TAGS/WARNINGS: None.**

Normally Astrals deliver important papers and other messages in person, they couldn’t let delicate information be lost or be half said, letters sometimes get ‘lost’ if given to the wrong person and favors between each other are met with suspicious eyes. The only way to make sure their message was sent was to present it themselves. 

Or employ a rather eager little primarch, wanting to please his creator.

Lucifer could be trusted with anything, soon the Astrals found out rather early. It didn’t matter what kind of information needed to be relied, they could count on him to have it delivered without problems for Lucifer would not question the nature of said information, not where it came from or to whom it was addressed. He was happy to play messenger for the Astrals and, more specially, help Lucilius in the way. The little primarch had taken into his breast important documents that even the council would have been nervous to deliver themselves and safely deposit them where they belonged. Having him do the work also ensured the papers wouldn’t get ‘lost’; if someone attacked or harmed Lucifer in any way, shape or form, the culprit would be pinpointed rather easily. It was a simple failsafe and worked every time.

Today, Lucifer had an important errand to do. The council summoned him specifically to give Lucilius confidential information within a small envelope, he took it and placed it between his chest and shirt. 

“It’s very delicate and important information.”, one of the dark robed council members said. “But we trust you will take care of it, right?”

“I will!”, Lucifer replied eagerly, wings fluttering. “I will deliver it to Fa---Lucilius as fast as possible!”

The council dismissed the little primarch and he was off to find his creator in the big facilities.

However, sometimes, the messenger gets slightly distracted along the journey. 

Lucifer found himself spending time with Belial during lunch hours, the dark haired boy had recently finished his own studies and was bored already when he bumped on his friend, urging him to eat together and then going with him to the lab garden. Lucifer accepted without second thoughts, forgetting about the letter in a matter of minutes. It wasn’t like him, but he couldn’t deny Belial when he hadn’t seen him in all of the afternoon, right?

By the time the sun slowly set into the horizon and the Astrals made their slow way back to their quarters, Lucifer’s mind reminded him of the still to do task and panicked. Belial laughed at his distress but the little primarch rushed out of the garden, hoping to find the addressee of the letter he carried.

Between the sea of white, flowing robes it was hard for Lucifer to notice Lucilius drifting away, barely paying attention to his surroundings, it was no big deal for the primarch to swim around the waves and make way through the hasty Astrals, but his creator’s back seemed to just get further and further. Lucifer wondered why he was in such a hurry. It wasn’t that strange for Lucilius to travel from here to there as soon as possible to get things done, but that was generally during work hours and once everything was taken care of, he would leisurely stroll back to his quarters while reading summed up reports from the day and other projects. It was his daily routine after all. Something might have come up for him to act this way, Lucifer thought.

The crowd of Astrals started to diminish, the sounds dying the more he approached his destination. Lucilius sighed tiredly, rubbing his temples. He briefly looked back, not seeing anyone in particular following him, turning his head around and marching on with accelerated pace. He only had a couple of hours and he wanted to make sure they counted.

Lucifer peaked from behind a pillar, watching his creator dwell further into a rather isolated place in the facilities. He slightly remembered being in these parts one or two times but couldn’t recall what was here to guarrant his creator come all the way from the labs. Cautious and rather worried for Lucilius, the little primarch followed as silently as he could. 

A little more to the left, a turn on the right, past a large arched door and into a small round room with a loveseat and a large window showing the sunset in the distance, the sky parted away at the silhouettes from the rest of the buildings in the city darkened by the coming night. The room itself had only a dim lighted lamp hanging from the ceiling and a small coffee table where an empty flower vase rested in the middle. It was certainly a lounging room of some sort and Lucifer couldn’t wrap his mind around as to why would Lucilius come to such a place. Perhaps his creator did relax when no one was watching, far away from the rest of the researchers and primarchs, far away and quiet enough to let his mind wander without anyone to bother him. Perhaps he came here for a couple of moments, doze off and return to his obligations. Lucifer wondered how long had his creator been doing this.

Lucilius sat on the loveseat, as close to the edge of the window as he could get. He opened it, a fresh breeze coming in and playing with his hair, robes billowing at the gentle winds. He laid on it, resting his head on the window and smiling, a rare gesture coming from him and perhaps the first time Lucifer seen him do it. 

An oddly peaceful sight. 

Lucifer smiled, peeking from behind the wall. He was glad his creator could find respite in his chaotic daily life. He placed a hand on his chest, where the letter stayed still, wondering when would be the right moment to approach and break the calm. However, his attention was drawn from Lucilius as the skies outside darkened at an alarming rate, being completely replaced by a different sight, one he was not familiar with. Concern returned to his face as he stayed put and watched. Bright dots of light appeared on the darkness and soon enough, strange shapes as well, it looked like some of the machines the facilities had but Lucifer also could discern a large glowing pillar in the far distance, carved with complex shapes and twirls in a language he couldn’t read. He was wary of this but Lucilius seemed unfazed at what was happening, the man opened his eyes and his smile grew wider, a soft sigh escaping his lips.

And in that moment, Lucifer felt an unfamiliar aura approach and his hair and feathers bristled, a chill running down his spine. He dug his nails on the wall, eyes open wide, scared of even breathing in case it alerted this unknown presence. Was Lucilius in danger? Would it be wise to come closer to protect him if needed? But Lucifer was still too young and inexperienced, despite making good progress, he didn’t know if he was to the task to defend his creator.

“Long day?”

Lucifer jumped in place at the sudden, gentle voice echoing in the room, a voice much like Lucilius but not quite. It had a much softer tone and it carried a certain sweetness Lucilius has, so far, not shown to anyone. Stepping closer, the primarch’s breath hitched in his throat, a strange but incredibly beautiful man appeared from the other side of the window, as tall as Lucilius, of fair skin and similar face too. A long, shimmering light blonde hair flowed behind him and eyes as clear as the skies gazed with nothing but adoration and love to his creator, who returned the gaze in equal terms. The man dressed in a simple white and gold half gown that seemed to flow in taderm to an invisible wind alongside his hair. 

“...Boring and annoying.”, Lucilius replied, blinking slowly. He lifted a hand and traced his fingers alongside the jaw of the other man. “I left as soon as I was able, couldn’t miss meeting with you today.”

“Ah, irresponsible, are we?”, the man said with a smile, leaning into the touch. “Today we can stay a bit longer than usual, isn’t wonderful?”, he sighed, scooting closer to Lucilius and closing his eyes, rubbing the tip of his nose against the Astral. 

Lucilius hummed pleasantly, fingers running into the blonde hair and then softly guiding the man towards his lips.

“I hate to break the moment, but I think we have company.”, whispered the man.

Lucilius’ eyes widened in shock, snapping his head towards the door and seeing a timid Lucifer standing in the archway, the boy jolting at being found out and hiding once again.

“Seems he followed you.”

“I… I didn’t realize.”, Lucilius muttered, quickly climbing down the loveseat and walking towards his creation and finding him curled up against the wall and covered with his wings. “...Lucifer?”

“I-I’m sorry Faa… I-I di-didn’t mean to….”, the wings shivered with him. 

“I been meaning to meet him, my beloved.”, came the man’s gentle voice from behind. “If that’s alright with the little one.”

Lucilius smiled warmly at the man in the window, turning his head to the primarch, rubbing his wings softly and parting them. Lucifer’s sorrowful and timid gaze met Lucilius’ tender one. With a pat on the head and encouraging words, the Astral convinced Lucifer to stand up and asked if he wanted to meet a very important person to him. This perked the boy’s interest, letter all forgotten. In the time he existed, not once had Lucilius spoken about someone like that. Now, he was faced with either refusing to meet this strange man or meet him, and Lucifer’s curiosity got the best of him. 

The Astral offered a hand and Lucifer took it, both walking towards the window and being welcomed by a bright and gentle smile. 

“There you are.”, the man’s voice was melodic and pleasant, Lucifer could listen to it all day. He didn’t know if it was because of how similar to Lucilius’ it was, or it was simply just too nice. “Ah, you are already a big boy! Time sure flies fast on the other side…”, he said, a hint of sadness underneath the sweet words.

Lucilius petted Lucifer’s hair again and returned to the spot he previously was on, beckoning his creation with a gesture. The boy gulped, taking a big leap towards the loveseat and leaning on the Astral’s leg. His wings dropped, eyes not leaving the strange man’s face, and covered himself with the large and ample sleeve of Lucilius’ robe. The man laughed, Lucifer blushed.

“He’s adorable, way more than what you told me about.”, the stranger smiled and placed his head against Lucilius. 

“...who are you…?”, Lucifer spoke with very small voice, eyes fixed in the man.

“I’m…”, he seemed to hesitate for a moment, finding Lucilius’ eyes for a brief instant before continuing. “I’m Helel. Lucilius and I have known each other for a very, very, very long time now and he’s my beloved, my most important person in the world.”

“Oh…”, Lucifer exclaimed softly, eyes shimmering. He offered a smile. “Faa is very important to me too! I love Faa!”, he said, snuggling closer to the Astral and rubbing his face against his leg. “Are you… are you going to take Faa away?”, asked moments later, worried.

It was Lucilius time to laugh, huffing and smiling sadly. 

“I can’t cross over the window.”, said, lifting a hand and placing it on Lucifer’s wings. “Helel can’t come over, either. However, our dimensions overlap one another at certain times of the day, mostly when the sun sets, and allows us to meet for a time.”

Lucifer nodded, feeling safer around now that Lucilius explained and neither were in imminent danger. He climbed over the loveseat and sat on the Astral’s lap to be able to gaze at the man closer. Indeed, there were minor differences between Helel and Lucilius, their eye shapes, their cheek bones, even their noses. It was quite subtle. Lucifer wondered if his face would resemble his creator that much once he became an adult. A hand appeared in front of his eyes and the primarch looked at it, noticing nothing out of the ordinary outside the golden bracelets adorning Helel’s forearm. Fancy and refined, long and elegant fingers were prodded and touched, the hand turned over and over. Then, he stood up and walked towards the man, inspecting his face up close. Helel allowed the child to touch his face, investigate his eyes, pet and feel his hair. 

It was a delight to be so intensively examined by Lucilius’ most precious creation, Helel felt he was gaining Lucifer’s trust and acknowledgement little by little. A joyous occasion it is to meet someone like Lucifer indeed. Helel wondered how often he could spend time like this with Lucilius’ creations. He knew there was another child, whose name now eluded him, and wanted to meet them as well but restrained from suggesting it due to the convoluted schedule the Astral already has and the inaccuracy of their dimensions overlapping. It was all too complicated and Helel had given up on the idea. This was definitely a chance encounter, one he will hold dear into his heart. Anything his beloved created was something he will come to cherish as well.

He wanted to talk, he wanted to know more about Lucifer but feared to ruin the mood if he ever spoke a word, especially now that the primarch seemed to be completely absorbed in his hair and the shapes of the bracelets. They weren’t anything interesting, at least to him, just remnants of perhaps happier days and now felt like shackles, heavy and filled with burden. Helel realized Lucifer behaved in similar ways to Lucilius; when presented with the unknown, they both have the immediate response to investigate and know more about it, perhaps the reason why Lucifer was completely into his task and has forgotten about his creator smiling behind him.

“What are you?”, Lucifer’s voice was heard, full of awe at what he was discovering. “Are you an Astral, like Faa and the others?”, he hummed. “You are too pretty to be an Astral, but you are as pretty as Faa, though.”

“Mm, am I?”, Helel replied, closing his eyes and leaning into the soft caresses of Lucifer’s small hands through his hair. “I always thought Lucilius to be much more beautiful.”

“Stop it.”, huffed the man in question, slightly embarrassed.

Lucifer frowned softly, not entirely knowing what was transpiring between the two men.

“I’m no Astral or Primarch, or a primal for that matter.”, Helel replied, allowing Lucifer to move his head around as the child kept examining thoroughly. “But don’t fret, I’m on your side.”

“How come you live in the ‘other side’? Where is this ‘other side’?”, Lucifer asked, finally dropping his hands from Helel once he had had enough. His wings quivered, a hand placed on them softly petting the fluffy feathers. Despite the mysteries surrounding the man, Lucifer was delighted to have made a new friend, someone Lucilius hold dear to boot!

“I’m afraid I can’t answer that, not right now.”, Helel said. He ruffled the primarch’s hair, Lucifer giggled. “I can tell you that it’s a place far, far, far away from here. Where no Astral or Skydweller can reach via normal means. It’s hidden, protected, by the Will and power of the Omnipotent.”

At the word, Lucifer flinched, adopting a more defensive posture, feathers bristling and a defiant look on his face. 

“Ah, a fierce little one. How nice! Lucilius is well guarded, then.”, Helel’s sweet voice and sly grin filled the air.

“Faa doesn’t like the Omnipotent! It hut him! You said he is important to you, why do you look for the Omnipotent’s favor?”

“Oh, you got it wrong, little one. I’m trapped here, with no way of escaping as of now.”, the man said, smirking. “I appreciate your immediate response, I know now my beloved Dusk is safe and sound with you here.”, he chuckled, tracing a finger alongside Lucifer’s face. “Grow strong, Lucifer.”

Lucifer shivered at the touch, confused. He didn’t know what to think of the man now but Lucilius didn’t seem to be troubled whatsoever at the words that came from his mouth. Was it alright, then, to befriend Helel? The primarch hummed under his breath, squinting and watching at Helel’s face closely, as if he were trying to find any sign of a lie.

“You don’t have to worry about it now, Lucifer.”, Lucilius said. The primarch turned to his creator with a concerned look. “In due time, we will discuss it but, for now, would you mind letting us be? We don’t have much time left.”, he asked.

“Are you sure you will be alright? I don’t want anything to happen to you, Faa…”, Lucifer whined, throwing himself at the arms of his creator to hug him tightly. “Oh! I-I forgot… Um…”, he fumbled with his clothes and produced the letter he was meant to deliver long ago. “Th-The council gave me this, it’s for you!”, he chirped.

Of course, after an agitated and eventful day, the letter was a bit wrinkled and bend at the tips when it was placed on Lucilius’ hands. Wondering how it even survived up to this point, Lucilius thanked the little primarch for his hard work and urged him to return to the main lab and keep Belial busy until he made his way back. 

Lucifer hopped down and offered a bright smile at Lucilius, squinting a brief moment at Helel before smiling, spinning on his heels and floating away into the empty hallway.

Being completely alone now, Helel indulged himself with the other man and rested his head on his, wrapping his arms around Lucilius and running his fingers through his hair, listening to the other’s calm breath on his chest. 

Oh, how he had missed his Other Half.

The realms worked with different times, different rules. Time was nonexistent in Helel’s prison and it made the wait completely unbearable, especially with nothing to do but wait until their dimensions overlapped. He has grown tired of overseeing a stagnant world with a master that have forgotten he even exists anymore. Helel loved the world unconditionally, it was still his sworn duty to protect it, for as much as Lucilius argued over it. His faith somewhat lingered despite events past but anger and resentment were slowly festering and taking root within his heart. The place he once thought to be a deserved punishment to think over the deeds done, became the place to question the Will of his Master, his existence and creation all around the world instead. Lucilius only helped these thoughts ramble about in Helel’s mind without much effort, he knew sooner or later his Other Half would have come to the same conclusion. Now, Lucilius walked alongside him as Helel’s belief slowly crumbled down underneath his own feet.

They still had each other, though, and even if time was fleeting they enjoyed the time spent. Sometimes they would meet and not say a word, simply holding each other, there were days they spent the time talking and talking and talking. Even though Helel was imprisoned, he still has access to the infinite knowledge trapped there with him, knowledge he shared with Lucilius, knowledge that perhaps should be kept there. The place recorded everything after all, from the beginning of time up to the present and beyond.

Helel nuzzled on Lucilius’ hair, giving a deep sigh.

“What worries you?”, Lucilius asked.

“Your powers.”

“I’m fine.”

“You didn’t look fine when you came today.”

Lucilius groaned, he disliked when he showed concern like that, but couldn’t be helped. Helel was made that way. 

“It’s draining, this realm is not the same as your prison or where we used to be, but I can bear it. Sometimes my powers falter more than other days, nothing to worry about.”, Lucilius explained, soft fingers tracing his jawline and traveling down his neck. “My wings are still in place, I have yet to lose them.”

Helel smiled, fingers dancing over Lucilius’ face again.

“That’s a relief.”, he kissed the man’s forehead, nuzzling his hair and rubbing their noses together. “Will you allow me to indulge a little, though?”

Lucilius tilted his head, gasping when his lips were claimed in an instant by Helel, leaning into his warmth and embrace. What he thought to be a simple kiss, turned out to be a rather demanding and slightly aggressive one, Helel pushing and parting Lucilius’ lips in order to lock their tongues together to deepen the kiss, soft moans escaping Helel’s throat while his hands roamed whatever part of Lucilius’ body they could reach, feeling Luclius’ gloved hands pull him closer by a strand of hair. 

Helel chuckled when they parted, nuzzling a dazed Astral. Lucilius’ eyes gazed softly at the man before him, a slight golden color was briefly seen before it faded. Lucilius blinked one, two times and then frowned.

“What was that for!?”, he barked but made no attempt to push Helel away when he was pulled into a tight embrace.

The long haired man smiled, giving him a soft, quick peck on the lips. 

“A little pick me up, my beloved.”

Lucilius rolled his eyes and groaned.

“You know I won’t be able to help unless I cross over.”, Helel’s stern and serious tone made Lucilius gaze back.

“I know, I have a plan for that but, well… It will take time.”, he sighed, huffing. “Not like it matters, we have all the time in the world.”, Lucilius brushed aside some hairs covering Helel’s face and, with sadness, saw it start to fade. “Time’s up…”

Helel smiled fondly, giving him one last kiss.

“I will see you soon, my beloved Dusk.”, the man said.

“Until we meet again, my dearest Dawn.”

In a blink of an eye, Helel and the other side were gone and replaced by the night sky of Canaan, of the few lit up buildings, of the cold and harsh wind blowing on Lucilius’ face. The contrasts between the warmth coming from Helel and the low temperatures made him realize just how much he longed to be reunited with his Other Half. Back then, the thought of being separated never crossed his mind, why would it? It was an inconceivable idea to be so far away from Helel and yet, here he was, sitting on the edge of the window and sighing to himself at the sudden detachment. 

He only had to wait, a bit more, a bit less and eventually, all the pieces would fit together.


	4. New friend, new woes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chaotic day for Belial ends up in the shape of a girl with lavender eyes and warm smile, while Lucilius muses about conflicting feelings in his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **EXTRA TAGS/WARNINGS: NON explicit child abuse / Implied/Referenced Child Abuse / the council pushes the primarchs to their limits / Hurt / Angst / physical injuries / bruises / some confort near the end / Belial & Gabriel / had to get this out of my system for the story, the rest will not be as heavy as this chapter so dont worry / OOC Lucilius as always **
> 
> This came out a bit too long but i reaaaaaaaaaaaally wanted to include the last scene for some reason. Does it work out? I dont know, i just wanted to do it.

Primarch evaluation was one of the most important days within the facilities at any given time. It was the day where they showcased the limits of their abilities and powers, all inside a strict schedule and set tasks, and their evolution up to that point. It was an important day for primarchs and their creators alike, it was a time for the astrals to boast about their creations and have a sense of accomplishment. The evaluation process was to determine whenever a primarch was falling behind, growing as expected or having an accelerated development. Of course, a baseline for this comparison is needed in the first place and it was taken from none else but Lucifer, the pinnacle of achievement and evolution the council could ever ask for. All other primarchs, and now fallens as well, were to be measured against Lucifer's data. It became painfully obvious the accelerated rate Lucifer's powers and abilities developed, leaving everyone else biting the dust, setting the bar a tad too high for the others to reach. It pleased the council, they could demand the Astral scientist for better results and it gave them the excuse to make the evaluation process more punishing if expectations are not met, make the tasks harder in order to force the Astrals and primarchs and fallens alike to break their limits, even their physical safety, in order to achieve the current goal.

Injury during these times wasn't uncommon, expected even, due to the harsh nature of these evaluations. It was normal for primarchs to return at the infirmary straight after finishing; a broken wing, a bloodied nose, bruises along their bodies and the like. For them, it was a normal process they had to go through once or twice a year, a process everyone but the council hated.

Since Lucifer is set as the standard and the level the council wants to put the rest of the primarchs and now fallens, all the tasks were made in accordance to Lucifer's own abilities and progress. Every so often, they would tweak them further and further the more the boy grew and surpassed the previous records, making it harder for the rest to keep up. But the children weren't really fully grasping the big picture, they simply wanted to please their creators and masters and pushed themselves a bit too hard at times to get the desired results. The true purpose the council had in mind was to simply weed out the weak from the strong, keep nurturing the ones with the best results to become the weapons they wanted them to be. As for the ones who don't make it, well, recycling materials is always useful. It was a constant, looming fear the Astrals had in the back of their minds, of their little creations not being to the likeness of the council and having no right to decide on their lives once they are deemed useless. By chance or miracle, none of the current primarchs were having troubles keeping up with the basic level the council asked for, but the fear of one day hearing those words kept the Astrals working without rest and were, at times, too strict and demanding with the primarchs.

Many Astrals voiced their concern and unwillingness to run tests that weren't really standardized for everyone and were simply a measuring contest against the best they had to offer, even Lucilius was against the idea back when it was suggested in a meeting, perhaps because he knew already Lucifer's odd growth and putting it against the rest was indeed unfair, but the council latched on this and used it as an excuse to demand better results and better created weapons. Despite arguing and going back and forth with it, the Astrals were unable to convince the council otherwise and now they had to bear with the consequences.

Lucilius attempted to alleviate it at times by not allowing Lucifer to hone his abilities too much, but in doing so it also meant to jam and perhaps even halt his performance in the following evaluation. The fear of having to retweak his most precious creation made the man forget about everyone else and concentrate only in him and Belial. He also had a plan going on, a goal to achieve, and Lucifer was an important key of it and couldn't lose him over something as ridiculous as an evaluation. His creations were gifted, yes, but they had different ways of going about it and sometimes, Belial falls back a bit thanks to his nature and Lucilius has to be strict with him. Despite this, Lucilius was content Belial and Lucifer still retained their friendship, with no ill tidings in the horizon, if the charm spell fiasco was anything to go by.

The children mostly hated the evaluations because the tasks themselves were boring and unengaging for them, not to mention they had to be prodded, touched and handled in many ways to determine their physical growth as well. Wings fluttered and quivered around constantly in state of stress, but the council pays no attention to it. They really didn't have a say in the matter and just did as told, it was one of the rare times Belial keeps his mouth shut and tries to make as little noise as possible and obeys whatever the adults have to say. This time around, however, he wasn't alone in the fallen group. Three boys and a girl were with him now, all bearing featherly wings as the primarchs but much darker in color, some sprouting horns from the sides of their heads, one with extremely long ashen hair had feathers around the base, and only two wings per fallen against the six the primarchs ported. Belial was certainly happy he had company even if they hadn't been properly introduced. From time to time, he would take a peek at them and try to contain his giggles. He wasn't alone! Lucifer was right! The emotions swelling in his chest were definitely new and he welcomed them, it made the evaluation much more bearable as well.

With the new addition of the fallens to the list, the council decided to let them undergo the same tasks as the primarchs and then tweak them using Belial's data for later, even though these tests were going to be further manipulated to be on par with the ones the primarchs have to do in accordance to Lucifer's measurement. On the other hand, the council was indeed curious about what these new fallen Lucilius created could bring to the table and sat expectantly. A few dark robed council members hummed in appreciation at the display, most didn't really comment and silently scribed away.

Lucifer was the last one to be evaluated, as if pinning him against the rest, as if to show them what it meant to be a primarch of quality, as if to seed jealousy and disdain between the children. The council was very verbal whenever Lucifer went through his tests, praising and admiring his progress and mentioning how no one could really be on par with him. Lucilius was about to argue and fight but another Astral stopped the man. It was not worth to do so during an evaluation. Speaking with the primarchs individually yielded better results. It had been the only thing stopping the primarchs from antagonizing each other after the council's poisonous words.

It became obvious the current field tests were getting obsolete for Lucifer, who had finished them in record time with flying grades, and one of the council members hummed, rubbing gloved hands together.

"We will be recalibrating the fields.", said when the evaluation was officially over.

All the primarchs and fallens were lined up and resting in front of the dark robed council, their astrals creators waiting patiently behind them in a large, white room filled with machines and desks were some sat and wrote the reports. The one talking approached Lucifer and looked down on him. Intimidated, the boy felt the need to shrink and hide in his wings, but kept his posture and silently returned the gaze.

"Lucifer will help us out with it, the rest can return to their regular schedule."

"Right now?", Lucilius chimed in, a hint of worry in his face.

"Indeed."

The Astral gave a quick look at his creation and then panned the rest of the primarchs and fallens, biting his bottom lip. They were bruised all around, Gabriel and Belial both broke several wings during the evaluation, Raphael had a rather deep cut in one of his arms and his clothes were all dirtied with blood, Uriel looked beaten up badly too, Michael seemed to not be interested whatsoever in what the adults were talking about, the fallens were all exhausted and bruised, bloody and beaten as well. Lucifer certainly didn't look any better than the others. He wasn't as tired but Lucilius knew what these recalibrations ended up being for.

"He's exhausted and worn out from the activities, he's at his limit if I dare sa---"

"Nothing he can't handle, I'm sure.", the dark robbed Astral interrupted, looming closer to Lucilius. "Today's display shown that he is capable enough to be pushed a bit more than normal.", then, hummed. "Actually... Yes, let's do that. I don't think we have measured yet their physical resistances beyond what we have established, right?"

"We haven't.", another replied.

Lucifer balled his hands into fists, wings shivering.

"You have no objections, do you, Lucilius?"

"I do, in fact!", the man shouted, standing up from the chair, slamming the staff against the floor as he did so. "His body is not fully developed at this stage, it can be dangerous to continue!"

"We don't have to care about that.", the reply given made everyone in the room, except Lucilius, cower. The man looked up with eyes flaring up in anger. "He either works, or he doesn't.", turning and facing Lucifer, the council member barked. "Move! We will begin shortly. Put up your best attitude, like you always do, and perhaps we will let you go off soon."

"...Yes, sir.", Lucifer replied with a soft voice, immediately following behind.

"This is outrageous!", Lucilius cried. "The process to create a new primarch is complicated enough, we can't just will them from thin air and replace when needed!"

"This will serve as future reference, then.", another council member said, blocking Lucilius' path. "We can create new primarchs, and I suppose fallens now too, that surpass these ones for even better results! But oh, don't worry! Lucifer's been exceeding all our expectations and more! He's a masterpiece indeed, his potential is infinite. You have done a good job at that.", a gloved hand was placed on the man's shoulder but he instantly moved away. "Oh, come on! Learn how to take a compliment, heheheh!"

"I will oversee these calibrations.", Lucilius growled, pushing the council member aside with his body and quickening the pace. "You all!", he barked at the rest of the Astrals working for and with him. "Bring the injured to the infirmary and treat their wounds! I will...", he took a deep sigh, swallowing his anger and disdain. "I will return shortly."

As if moved by instinct, Belial broke the line and rushed towards his creator, wincing in pain.

"Let me go too, 'Cilius!", he yelled with frustration.

"Don't.", was the last order the creator gave him before his back disappeared behind the door.

Belial screamed at the top of his lungs and cried, demanding to be taken for the calibrations as well, not wanting to leave either Lucifer or Lucilius alone with the people of the council. Several Astrals had to handle him, the strength he possessed right now was extraordinary and they weren't sure why considering what came out from his own results. He didn't care about his broken wings, flapping them furiously in a vain attempt to free himself from the captive arms around his body.

Unexpectedly, one of the little fallens joined the fray, trying to help Belial by biting down on the arm of one of his captors, threatening with escaping and causing more mayhem should they not grant Belial's wishes but was overpowered soon. Grabbed by the wings, the little fallen screamed and kicked, taken from the room alongside the rest, Belial still fighting.

He refused to leave. Sitting down on the hallway in front of the door, the dark haired boy brought his knees to his chest and surrounded them with his arms, face hiding behind but allowing his eyes to dig holes on the door, swollen and twitching wings flopping at his sides. Some Astrals attempted to bring him by force and then trying to convince him to go to the infirmary but the boy refused, biting and hissing at anyone that dared to approach and, eventually, they stopped bothering with him.

The feeling of dread and hopelessness was big in Belial's chest, so much so he often ended up crying in solitude as he waited. Not being able to help his most important person weighted heavily in his small heart. To distract himself from the thoughts, he begun chewing on his bottom lip enough to swell it and break blood with his teeth. He hated being alone, he didn't want to be alone again. He had the new fallens with him, but Lucifer was special and filled a gap in his heart no one else had been able to at the moment. Whenever the winged boy was absent, Belial felt as if Uriel punched the air out of his stomach. He didn't understand why the council was obsessed with his friend; Lucifer this, Lucifer that, the boy always ended up injured whenever the council was involved and Belial detested it. That side Lucilius oftentimes complains about was born purely as a mechanism to defend not only himself from others, but Lucifer as well. The boy simply didn't have the guts and temper to fight back, doing as told, obeying with his head down. Belial knew Lucilius was jaded as well but, much like the rest of the Astrals, had his hands tied behind his back regarding what to do and not do with the primarchs. Belial wanted to change that, he hoped to become much stronger, much better than Lucifer if it meant sparing him from all this.

But Belial also realized he might never be able to surpass Lucifer even if trying his hardest.

It wasn't something he disliked, quite the opposite. He was marveled at Lucifer's abilities, the way he could work around with his body and wings, the many times he produced flowers and other strange plants from thin air for Belial, a secret gift between each other. Belial couldn't do that but it made him appreciate these gifts Lucifer gave him much more. Lucifer taught him a lot as well, of his own powers and seemingly limitations to it and, oftentimes, Lucifer envied Belial's facility of acting on his own emotions or being able to put into words his own thoughts. The boy never really thought about it until that moment, but they were different in a good way, what made them unique, what made them cling close too. Both had differences and were attracted to these, hoping to get to know them better and work around it, Belial teaching Lucifer how to be a bit more assertive, Lucifer teaching Belial how to be patient and less mouthful. Like this, the boys soon found solace in each others presence.

Belial frowned, twisting his mouth, curling further into himself.

A pair of shy lavender eyes admired Belial from afar, white boots tiptoeing nervously. Gabriel was standing in the doorway, unsure if to approach. She could feel the mess of emotions the boy's heart was right now and knew he didn't particularly enjoy being around the other primarchs, even thought she wanted to get closer. It made her own heart swell in sadness, not knowing how to alleviate the pain other than being there. Knowing she won't get anything if she doesn't act, Gabriel slowly walked towards Belial who, so immersed in his own turmoil was, didn't notice her until she was right beside him.

The sudden presence made the boy bristle his hair and turn around, growling and showing his fangs, but it wasn't enough for Gabriel to run away. She flinched, surprised yes, but she remained in place, despite Belial trying to be intimidating by flaring his injured wings at her. Gabriel was clearly not welcomed, but the girl didn't want to leave him alone. Ignoring the threatening display, the primarch sat down and mimicked his stance, eyes landing on the door before them. Seeing no other movement from her, Belial returned to his original stance, not muttering a word. Gabriel could stay, he would allow it, for now.

"...my healing powers are not too strong, but... if you want...", she said after what seemed to be hours, with a soft tone but firm words. Belial's eyes turned to her. "Um, it will be better if you go to the infirmary but, in the meantime, I-I can... Try som-something out..."

The boy's eyes widen in surprise once he realized what she was offering, and she was giving him the choice to accept or refuse as well. It felt odd, for someone other than Lucilius and Lucifer to care about him when Belial always received grunts and mean words for being the child he is, it was specially odd since he figured the primarchs hated him for hogging Lucifer's attention all the time, perhaps even more for challenging the authority of the Astrals and the council themselves, for being loud and vulgar at times, but he couldn't help it. He wondered, then, if her intentions were honest, if she really wanted to become his friend.

Belial didn't exactly have anything to lose, he would be disappointed in the end if it's not what he expected it to be, but at this point he was kinda used to.

Maybe he could give her an opportunity, maybe he could give himself an opportunity.

Gabriel gasped when a handful of bat-shaped wings landed on her lap. Turning her head, she saw Belial's cheeks dyed in a deep red and his own orbits placed anywhere but her. The girl smiled wide, her face beaming, eyes shining. Her slender fingers tiptoed against the injured areas of the wings.

"I will do my best!", she said with immeasurable happiness. "It won't hurt a bit, you will see!"

The only reply given was a low growl in acknowledgement.

Gabriel's powers emanating from her palm soothed the swollen area little by little, it still hurt now that Belial noticed after his adrenaline rush was pretty much gone, but the pain washed away slowly. Even his own mood was calming down the more power Gabriel used. Belial relaxed, despite being upset over the situation still, and dropped the wings to the sides, opening up. He sat better and turned his head to watch her peaceful and concentrated expression as she carefully moved her fingers around, a soft blue light enveloping her.

He wondered, again, why she got friendlier with him. He knew their creators projected their disdain and jealousy they had at Lucilius' creations and genius through the primarchs, adults weren't keen to hide their feelings as well as they thought and Belial was an expert in reading emotions and expressions. It was true, for the most part, the primarchs didn't really mind their differences between each other, but as soon as they notice the adults saying things against one, they take a stance with them. If they complain it's because there is a reason for it, right? But Belial knew better. It's what made the boy behave in the way he does, he really cannot stand adults being pricks at each other and being pricks to him or Lucifer, he couldn't stand them bad-talking his creator behind his back and ended up in way more troubles he wanted to, it was just his first instinct. Perhaps Lucifer was right in that sense, he should be less ill tempered and be more methodical, like Lucilius. That's why it came as a surprise Gabriel suddenly keeping him company, even offering to use her powers on him, she never really did this with anyone he recalls, perhaps Michael but he knew they fancied each other. He couldn't understand her and it annoyed him how easily he opened to her, how fast he allowed her in. 

He didn't want her friendship, he just....

"That's enough, snitch!", Belial barked suddenly, withdrawing his wings from her lap.

He noticed the minor scratches and his bottom lip healing in matter of instants and realized Gabriel was doing more than just working on his wings. The sudden action made the girl break her trance, blinking a few times. She felt his mood swing but didn't comment, merely returning to her previous position with a smile on her face. Despite what Belial said, she managed to reach every single injured part of his body in a matter of minutes and was able to soothe the pain and discomfort it caused. For her, it had been a job well done.

Neither talked again but the silence didn't feel awkward at all and that made Belial uneasy.

After some hours passed, Lucilius finally showed his face through the door, holding in his arms a bundle covered on his own robes, patches of dried blood scattered across it. He was exhausted, his body ached and was delighted to see Belial after what transpired back with the council. Of course, the boy wanted to see his friend but Lucifer's state of mind wasn't the best. Lucilius explained he would allow it but once Lucifer receives proper treatment at the infirmary. The astral was surprised to see Gabriel standing shyly behind Belial's wings but didn't really mind seeing her either. Another Astral came up to them and, after introducing herself as Ark, they all walked back towards the facilities, Belial clinging to Lucilius' side and Ark escorting Gabriel back to her room but not before the girl waved her goodbye to Belial and told Lucifer to get better. The gesture left Belial speechless and unable to properly reply, nodding in acknowledgement and hiding behind Lucilius. The image surely amused him but at the same time, it made him smile. He needed some of that after today's evaluation.

Once Lucifer was placed in a bed in the infirmary and Belial was taken to another to be examined by an acolyte, Lucilius begun the arduous process of disengaging the boy from his body, hearing pleas and whines fill the room at the sudden loss. Once calmed down, Lucifer allowed his creator to start healing him with his powers and patch the remaining injuries with bandages, tucking him in the bed and giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"...where are you going, Faa?", Lucifer asked upon seeing the man take his robes.

"...I need to speak with someone, it's important. I will return as soon as possible.", Lucilius gave him another kiss, rubbing their noses together. "Belial will be here, alright? He will take care of you and protect you while I'm absent. You are safe now and need to rest, can you do that for me?", the boy nodded, curling underneath the blankets.

Lucilius petted Lucifer's hair a few times, not really wanting to leave but having to desperately disengage at the same time. The man gave a deep sigh and raised from the chair, putting on the robes despite them being dirty. Giving strict orders to Belial to 'take care of Lucifer while he is gone', Lucilius left the infirmary and made haste to his new destination.

The window was open, and so were the arms that embraced him upon arriving.

It was the first time Helel seen Lucilius so shaken up in the time they have been together, perhaps not after they were cast down by the Omnipotent so long ago. It took the long haired man some moments to calm Lucilius down and ask what was troubling him so much, not to mention Helel was concerned about the bloodstained robes he wore. And Lucilius poured the events that transpired during the evaluation, anger spitting with each word he told, annoyance and sense of helplessness filling his body once again, hating being bound to a mortal realm without his powers, hating being bound to the astral's rules, hating himself for allowing his emotions to interfere in the evaluation when he had to let it flow its course, hating himself for being unable to detach from the creations he made for the sole purpose of fulfilling his goal, asking where he had gone wrong during their creation to allow those emotions to take root, why he had so much trouble in seeing them as the tools, as the weapons they are meant to be.

Lucilius hid in Helel's arms, feeling long, elegant fingers run through his hair as he ranted and cried in frustration.

"Perhaps your desire to free me, to be with me once again, slipped into your mind during the creation process and brought to life creatures that makes you recall pleasant emotions you associate with me.", Helel's soft voice calmed Lucilius' temper little by little. "Now you see them as part of you, part of us, instead of objects, of things to use and discarded. Is there a reason why you made Lucifer to look like that, if it's not because of me?"

The astral gave one, deep and long sigh in annoyance. He hated when his other half was right, he hated when he pinpointed the problem he had probably ignoring for who knows how long but, for that, he was also grateful he could rely on him for it.

"I tried to distance myself but it's hard.", Lucilius replied instead. "The other Astrals don't seem to have these issues but then again, we are not the same kind of creatures."

"It's not in our nature to hate our own creations, after all.", Helel laughed softly, burying his face in Lucilius' hair, nuzzling. "Remember all the life we created, you loved every single one of them. And even after all this time, you still do.", another growl imbued the room. "...maybe a little less now...", Helel added an instant later.

The long haired man tightened his embrace and kissed Lucilius softly, trailing his lips alongside the Astral's jaw, placing a hand on the small of his back and the other on his neck. Lucilius' own arms were locking Helel's waist in place, not wanting to let go anytime soon.

"You will find a way, I'm sure of it.", Helel whispered, giving him another kiss. "You are intelligent and cunning.", he added with a smirk. "I suppose Belial got that from you.", the comment made the Astral roll his eyes and rest his face in the crook of Helel's neck. "I do believe you should perhaps apologize to Lucifer for saying the things you said back in the council room.", warm breath hit his skin, Lucilius groaned. "I doubt anyone likes to hear their creator saying he only cares for one person and the rest can go die."

"I wasn't lying."

"You don't want to hurt either of them, though."

It was obvious how transparent Lucilius was to Helel, how his emotions and thoughts laid out for the long haired man to see and feel. 

"Is the seal still intact?", Lucilius changed the subject suddenly.

Helel closed his eyes and sighed. It wasn't unlikely his other half to do this, but he wished he would be more competent with his feelings.

"Yes. I haven't meddled with it in a while, not after the last time that ended up in a failure.", Helel nuzzled Lucilius' hair again, the man humming pleasantly. "Are you in a rush now, to get your powers back?"

"I'm extremely jaded they don't obey my command, everything is at my fingertips and yet nothing works."

"In due time, my beloved, in due time, we will reform the world so no one has to suffer as we did."

"We have the perfect opportunity, but no means to do so and it's frustrating me to no end."

"You never been one with patience, my love.", Helel smiled and received a gently kiss from Lucilius, and another, feeling his mouth leaving a trail as it moved down on his neck, nibbling and biting. "If it makes you feel better, I can allow some of my power to reside within you."

A brief moment passed before Lucilius answered.

"I will think about it."

The offer was tempting, that's for sure. While being created as opposing forces, they essentially shared the same powers with different properties and could bounce them from each other with ease. A little boost would help Lucilius a lot, but at the same time he worried Helel ends up weakened because of it. Right now, he didn't want to leave anything to chance. Instead of musing over it, he concentrated on kissing and leaving all kinds of marks on Helel's neck and collarbone, not realizing how starved he was for contact. But the pleasure was fleeting, Helel soon kissing him one last time before he faded away, leaving Lucilius sitting back on the edge of the window. Perhaps he was more needy after today's evaluation, perhaps he was just seeking comfort from his other half.

His attachment to his creations wasn't in the plan, he was simply going to device a primarch that reunited everything he needed to become the key to free Helel from his prison but, along the way, feelings developed during the process and the awakening and now Lucilius was too clingy of Lucifer to even remotely think of sacrificing him to achieve his goal. It was true, during some time past, he loved to create and bring forth life of many shapes and forms, but now he had a certain disdain to it, a hate for the world the Omnipotent created, and yet Helel loved it down to the imperfections it had. He couldn't understand but Lucilius would do whatever was at his hand to try not damage it as much. He couldn't bring himself to harm something Helel loved.

Perhaps that's why he couldn't distance himself from his creations, Helel came to love them the moment the Astral told him about it and now Lucilius couldn't bring himself to harm them.

But it felt nice to have something he cared for, besides the long haired man, after such a long, long time.


	5. Let it all out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belial has a lot in his heart, and so does Lucilius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TAGS: Hurt/Comfort / Jelousy / Possessive behaviour**
> 
> More angst, more comfort, i had a different idea for this but it went full angst and hurt and eventually got tired of working on this chapter, rewrote it like 3 times, im done with it, however it came out

The time has come! Finally, to be able to meet his brethren after so long!

Belial was overjoyed that morning, beaming, eyes sparkling with delight and wings flapping happily behind his back. It took a while, a long while, but Lucilius approached him a couple of days ago and told him he would be officially introduced to the fallens. At the news, the dark haired child squealed and jumped at Lucilius' arms, circling his legs around his legs and yelling with uncontrollable emotions. Belial thought his own creator _forgot_ about it altogether, but seems he was simply making preparations and allowing the newly made fallens acclimatized to the place they were going to live and spend most of their time.

Lucifer had been informed of it as well and was excited to be able to meet them. They were going to be his responsibilities in the future, too. The title of Supreme Primarch meant he had to take care of everything; he was bound to be Lucilius' right hand. Belial will be acting as Lucifer's adjutant and will be placed at the head of the fallen to split the duties evenly.

This will not only serve as an introduction to the fallen and their nature, but it was also going to be early training for both Lucifer and Belial, to shape and get them used to their upcoming roles once they become adults. The road will not be easy but Lucilius expected good results from the boys he raised so hard. He will definitely have to guide them here and there and hopes, more accurately desires, Belial ends up being competent enough and didn't get into _too_ much trouble with the fallens. Due to their fickle emotions, he expected a clash of personalities and didn't rule out possible fights between each other, however he also figured it might be a way for them to bond and grow closer. Of course, this depends on the individual since not all fallens were just like that. Lucilius pondered if scheduling regular physical and engaging activities will encourage a camaraderie in the group.

Belial strutted down the facilities, humming to himself. Over the way he got a distant greeting from a passing by Gabriel that took the boy by surprise but returned the gesture with a big grin, only to make a face when a stern, looking and somewhat annoyed Michael showed her face behind the primarch of water. Gabriel looked back at Belial and waved her hand, as if implying to pay her no mind.

It was strange.

After the examinations Belial had been feeling more comfortable around Gabriel and even dared to seek her out when he couldn't find Lucifer or Lucilius around. She was a surprisingly fun child to be around, soon he found out, as she enjoyed exploring as much as he did and liked to investigate and learn as many things as she could, sharing how her powers worked, and having a likeness for sparring that Belial didn't think the other primarchs had. Well, besides Uriel. Uriel was always looking for physical combat and other kinds of extensive activities that even Lucifer couldn't keep up at times. All in all, Belial enjoyed having Gabriel around and, dare say, call her a friend.

But enough of that, Belial shook his head and let the thoughts fade away, marching down across hallways and finding words written on a wall that read 'Fallen Project', making him smile.

The wing had a similar room distribution as the one he currently resided alongside Lucifer and the rest of the primarchs and so, he managed to make his way with ease, finding the examination rooms just a couple rooms into it.

Lucilius and a couple of colleagues assigned themselves a different fallen and were going through a list of checkups before letting them go, Belial figured he came a bit too early since this was certainly boring. The four of them were sitting on their respective table and were being measured.

Wait, four?

Belial blinked a few times upon the realization of seeing a brown haired mop and fluffy wings among the fallen. He approached with caution, not saying a thing, just observing from afar. Yes, it was indeed the child he saw in the storage room, the one Lucifer named, and the one that came to his aid back in the council's examination. Belial faintly recalled Lucilius saying something about not knowing what to do with him, seems he decided the brown haired child belonged in the fallens.

Well, wasn't this souring Belial's mood already…

Ever since the council's testing and awakening, the brown winged child managed to sneak around and find Lucifer much quicker than Belial ever could and it infuriated him because Lucifer would get distracted, as the airhead he is at times, completely forgetting about his duties and studies. The sparrow winged child had a knack at dragging Lucifer's attention away and would spend time together in one of the garden labs, doing what Belial didn't wish to know, way into the afternoon or until the brown haired child was called back and scolded for running away. It was a small victory for Belial but it seemed the other child didn't really care about it, he just wanted to stay with Lucifer as much as he could.

And then, the horror!

A second fallen had taken a liking to his beloved friend and the two of them were just hogging Lucifer's attention, bouncing between each other or even fluttering around the soon to be Supreme Primarch, distracting him from his studies, from his chores, from _Belial_. The dark haired boy rarely gets jealous, he rarely gets _this_ annoyed and angry but these two, these two newly made fallens, that had been awake for around a month or so, and acted all too friendly with Lucifer, _dared_ to snuggle up with him and kiss him on the cheek! The audacity! That day, Belial returned to his room and had a meltdown alone, kicking and screaming and crying at the myriad of emotions swirling in his being, unable to control them, just feeling an eruption of negative sensations. He didn't quite remember what happened after he fell asleep, but he remembered waking up embraced by soft fluffy feathers around him and an all too familiar warmth, a warmth that washed away all the previous feelings he had.

It was obvious the two fallen were enthralled by Lucifer altogether and wanted to be favored in some kind of way, the white winged child indulged without problems in their demands because he was that kind of person. Boundless love for anyone who wanted it, but Belial wanted it all for himself.

Each greeting consisted in four different lessons for Belial to learn; pointing out discrepancies on the reports. State the obvious, drag his attention to it and learn why it was happening for it could lead to deeper issues even if it might not be anything in the long run. Make sure the information on the reports coincides with what he is seeing in front of him, for information was the most important thing in a project and its loss or omission can lead to troubles.

The last one was a hard lesson to take.

Despite Belial not liking the last little fallen at all, he couldn't stop feeling bad when he overhead the report and found no purpose listed on it, the brown haired boy completely unaware. He couldn't point anything else to comment, didn't know what to even say as not even stingy words were coming out from his mouth, the brown haired boy wary and curious for he realized something was up. Lucilius patted Belial's head, saying that some information is better keep it to oneself for the time being and he should work more on how to conceal his emotions to prevent misunderstandings.

Once the introductions were over Lucilius allowed the fallens to return to their rooms or their activities before they were called.

"I will return to my office now.", Lucilius stated, fixing the reports and placing the folders in their respective places. He turned to Belial. "You are free to stay and do as you please."  
Belial, then, spent most of the time hanging out with Sariel, whom he already knew since he had named the boy himself a while ago.

Sariel liked to stay outdoors, where the sun shone and the trees shadowed him while trailing behind different kinds of insects. The one winged boy showed the future Deputy the many beetles living in those garden labs and even caught some interesting ones for him. The beetles were well mannered for the most part, staying on Sariel's hands and crawling all over his arms, extending them for Belial to admire the beetles. Every time they walked, Sariel giggled. They tickled!

Afterwards, Sariel showed Belial the insects he liked the most; ants. He would give them whatever he could find, mostly bread or cookie crumbs and watch the ants swarm over the food, picking it up with their mandibles, returning to their nest full of bounty. Sariel could watch them go for hours and Belial wondered how he does it, but he admitted there was something peaceful in the way the ants walked in line, all with crumbs on their jaws, as they marched over treaded paths already.

"I'm glad you like ants.", Sariel said. He picked up more bread, broke it into tiny pieces and laid it around the ants to grab. "Only... uh... Phone stays with me watching them some days."

"...phone? Oh, Sandalphon?"

Sariel nodded, smiling.

"He's nice. He's a bit noisy sometimes."

Belial didn't have enough time to frown or voice his thoughts when squeels were heard. The dark haired boy raised his head, blinking in confusion at the ruckus while Sariel seemed completely unfazed and uninterested, eyes on the ants.

On the door that leads to the garden labs, where all the fallens were currently leisuring about, stood a few astrals fumbling over a familiar winged child, putting their hands on his shoulders as if to prevent him from walking further but to no avail. The six, white feathery wings stretched over and forced the astrals to step back. Belial grinned. When he wants to, Lucifer can be assertive and impose his authority despite being a child.

"It's not restricted, is it?", Lucifer said, looking around. The garden lab was more or less the same size like the one he and the other primarchs use. "Lucilius says I can come and go as I please."

"We are aware but we haven't run enough tests--"

"Feru! Feruuuu!"

The white haired child smiled warmly when he was tackled and covered in brown wings, small arms clinging onto him, Sandalphon rubbing his face against Lucifer's. The astrals behind scolded the boy but he paid no mind and eventually, they left, defeated. They had better things to take care of than stay behind to babysit.

Soon enough, Azazel flocked to them too and shyly greeted the newcomer and received a headpat in return, black wings fluttering happily.

Belial fumed, absolutely consumed by anger and jealousy swirling in his core, digging the tips of his fingers on his arms and gritting his teeth. How dare they! They didn't have any right to be that close to him! Belial growled under his breath and Sariel noticed, placing a hand on his arm and breaking the other boy's trance, making him blink a few times.

"Don't be angry. It's ok.", Sariel said softly with a smile, eyes going back to the trail of ants in front of him.

Belial sighed loudly. He will try to put on his best face and attitude.

Summoning his wings, the future Deputy hopped and flew straight at the bundle of feathers, dragging their attention away from Lucifer with his graceful twirls before landing in front of them, puffing up his chest. He could tell the two fallen were slightly taken aback at his appearance, they figured his wings to be the same as theirs and so their shocked expressions were a delight for Belial to see. If he could intimidate them with his looks…

"Why are your wings not as pretty as Lucifer's?", Azazel said, breaking the entirely of Belial's 'cool' image and making him flinch in place. "They look so odd, too.", the white haired fallen pondered, floating around Belial and taking a look at them. "Weren't you and Lucifer created at the same time?"

"We were.", Lucifer replied still holding Sandalphon in his arms. "Our creator had a different idea when he made Belial.", he smiled at the bat-winged one. "I think his wings are pretty, I like them."

First Lucilius with all the praises, now, Lucifer being honest with Belial. He couldn't take it! But he endured, he couldn't falter now, he had to show these two who were they meddling with! Despite blushing in embarrassment, Belial stood straight and flapped his wings, a motion to shoo Azazel away, and walked closer to his friend, earning a warning glare from Sandalphon.

"Say, what brings ya here, Feru?", Belial asked instead with a playful tone, trying to break the tension a bit, on himself and the rest.

"I wanted to visit and meet them too.", Lucifer smiled warmly.

"Aw, how cute!", Belial teased, grinning. "Miss me already~?"

"With that face and how loud you are who would.", came the surprising, and hurtful, reply from Sandalphon.

Belial's eye twitched, unable to comprehend the words his ears registered, Azazel laughing somewhere behind him and Lucifer frowning at the brown haired fallen. Belial's patience was sure running thin and they haven't even begun doing anything remotely interesting yet.

"That's not a nice thing to say, Sandalphon."

The fallen's wings quivered, he had been scolded and didn't like it.

"But it's true! No one would miss him!"

"Belial is my friend.", Lucifer said, softly pushing Sandalphon away. "I don't like it when others talk badly of him."

Instead of apologizing, the brown haired fallen hid behind the other's wings.

"I don't like him too much."

"Tch! I don't either, to be honest.", Belial replied angrily.

Lucifer's eyes widen in shock for a moment, a frown followed afterwards, balling his hands into fists and gazing back at his friend.

"You have to stop being so childish if you want to grow up into your role."

The words hurt more than Lucifer intended because Belial wasn't expecting him, of all people, to say something like that. Instead of cowering like he always does, Belial growled, wings flapping angrily behind him.

"I see you are starting to behave like Lucilius, eh. No wonder you are the favorite."

Not letting Lucifer say a thing, Belial stormed off from the gardens at full speed, almost knocking a few astrals over at the speed he was flying through the rooms and then the corridors.

He aimlessly flew around, gritting his teeth, digging the tips of his nails into his palm as tears flowed from his eyes, blurring his sight and almost crashing into someone. Eventually, he slowed down and landed, sobbing alone in the middle of a room, wings flapping behind him. The boy dried the tears with his sleeve but more kept coming out. He hiccuped, sighing in defeat and backtracked a bit, dragging heavy feet on the floor and managed to enter into Lucilius' room, surprised to find the man there of all places but relieved as well.

The Astral turned around and stood immediately upon seeing Belial in such state, kneeling in front of him.

"Are you alright!? What happened!?"

But Belial could only cry harder.

Lucilius picked him up in his arms and closed the door behind them, rubbing the boy's back between the wings and shushing him softly, sitting back on the chair to let Belial accommodate on his lap. The little fallen hugged him tightly, gripping at the man's loose clothes and burying his face on them, crying louder and louder. The feeling of those arms around his small body gave Belial a sense of safety he never felt with his creator.

"You care about me, don't you? Please...", the boy whimpered. "Y-You and Feru like me, right? He...", Belial interrupted himself with a hiccup that followed with more crying and tears.

For the first time in millenia, Lucilius' felt like crying too. And not from anger, not like that time with Lucifer and the council. His heart genuinely ached inside his chest at seeing Belial undone like this.

"Of course I do.", the man said, hugging him as tight as he could, pressing Belial onto him as much as he could without hurting. "Of course _I do_!"

"You don't... You don't show it...", Belial sobbed.

Lucilius' could barely talk, all words were meant to calm down the bundle in his arms, fingers running through the fallen's hair, petting him, rubbing between his wings in a comforting manner.

_You don't want to hurt either of them, though._

He didn't, he truly didn't.

Lucilius closed his eyes, rubbing his face against Belial's head, apologizing over and over and over the boy's cries, rocking him back and forth ever so slowly, trying too hard to not shed tears as well.

Somewhere, he messed up. Somewhere, he said something he shouldn't, somewhere, he did something he shouldn't. Whatever it was, it was too late to go over it, he hoped it wasn't something too horrible to fix. He sighed loudly, giving Belial a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Of course I care about you, Belial.", Lucilius whispered, the boy calmed down enough that only sobs and hiccups were left. "I..."

"I know.", he snuggled closer, curling up, wings folding over himself. "Feru says... says you have a hard time... figuring out your emotions... and showing them."

The Astral for sure knew those weren't Lucifer's words, but he made no comment about it and allowed Belial to express himself at best as he could.

"But... but you sometimes... yell at me... so much... why?", the boy shrunk, tears running anew.

How could Lucilius explain to a child, how could Lucilius make a child understand he was only meant to be a weapon? A tool? Something Lucilius shouldn't have gotten attached and that's why he treated him the way he did, why he favored Lucifer because his purpose had a more noble 'goal' in his mind than Belial's, how could he make Belial understand he disliked his confronting personality? Because he wasn't used to other life forms not following his command?

A bitter smile formed on his lips. Perhaps his punishment was well deserved, after all.

"...because I had a belief.", Lucilius said. "I swore to not get attached, I sworn to not grow emotions, I thought I had ripped my heart away, and only now I realize it has always been there, beneath layers upon layers of lies I kept telling myself. I pretended to not care... because it was easier that way.", the man sighed, cupping Belial's face in his hands and rubbing their noses together, like he does with Lucifer plenty of times, making the boy smile softly. "It was easier for me to form a bond with Lucifer because he... he reminds me of someone, however that's no excuse for treating you the way I did and for that I apologize."

Belial didn't say anything, cuddling closer to Lucilius and feeling his fingers run through his hair again.

"I forgive you."

Lucilius smiled, hugging Belial without really being able to help himself.

"That makes me happy."

"But don't ever, ever, _ever_ do it again!"

The way he said that made Lucilius laugh softly.

"You have my word. Now...", the man made the little fallen look at his eyes, a sorrowful expression painted on them. "Can you explain to me what you mean with 'does lucifer like me too'? Did you two have a fight?"

This prompted Belial to sigh, looking away, retelling the events that lead him to seek the comfort of his creator's embrace. He didn't want to dislike the fallens, he didn't want to sow discord between his brethren, it wasn't his intention to make Lucifer upset but he couldn't help feeling angry whenever his friend was being bothered by the two noisy fallens almost everyday. Belial had been away helping Lucilius and other astrals in the fallen wing, barely having time to visit Lucifer, the moment he was free to do so to spend time with him, the fallen would drag Lucifer away and leave Belial behind. The boy didn't know what was happening, why was Lucifer suddenly preferring the presence of two strangers over someone who has known since his creation.

Belial expressed jealousy in his voice as he talked, some resentment too, and desires of wanting to keep Lucifer at his side forever, not wanting others to get too close or too friendly with his friend.

"Oh, Belial...", Lucilius smiled, petting his head.

So that's what prompted the initial question, Lucilius was glad they both got that sorted out at least. For a change of pace, it was Lucifer who wronged this time around and not Belial. Perhaps this ends up being a good lesson for the three of them, something to use to shape themselves better for Lucilius realized his boys ended up taking some of his worst habits and personality traits. What a bother. He already has himself to deal with, he didn't need a second one.

"Do you know how I tell both of you I value free will over everything?", Lucilius started, Belial nodded at his words. "You realize Lucifer is free to choose with who to spend his time, right?"

"But what about me!"

"He had been staying with you all this time, why are you doubting him now?", it felt like he was dealing with the charmed Lucifer all over again just more inclined to listen. "Have you perhaps thought he might want to get close to the fallen to get to know you a bit better? You two were made differently, after all. Or he just wants more friends."

But Belial didn't like that, no, he didn't want Lucifer's eyes on anyone but him. Lucifer was his everything, so he must be Lucifer's everything too, right?

"Do you fear being replaced?"

The way the boy flinched gave Lucilius his answer.

The Astral had been pondering if Belial had a crush or was just infatuation, a whim. It didn't seem that way now, not after the spell incident, not after what happened during the examinations, not after knowing Belial was slowly making friends as well.

"What would Lucifer think if he knows you and Gabriel been hanging out when he's not around?"

Lost of words, Belial's mouth moved but no sound came, panicking and opting to cover himself with his wings.

"Lucifer doesn't belong to you.", Lucilius stated. "He doesn't belong to me either, he doesn't belong to the council, or the other primarchs, or the fallens, or the facilities, or the world, or the skies. He belongs to himself only. And only him.", the Astral sighed, allowing Belial to nest between his arms more comfortably. "He is his own person, away from you, away from me, he doesn't need us to be, and no matter how much you love him that won't change. If you truly love him, you walk alongside as equals."

"I don't want to be alone."

"You won't, what gives you that idea?"

"No one likes me."

"Lucifer likes you, I like you. Gabriel seems to be warming up to you as well, isn't she?"

Belial groaned.

"Now, now... Since you let it all go, why don't we return to the fallen wing? I'm sure Lucifer will like to apologize. And so will Sandalphon."

It took a bit of convincing but eventually they made their way back to the other side of the facilities.


	6. And yet again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A slow day at the studio meant more time to reflect and lose yourself in thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **EXTRA TAGS: Azazel/Sandalphon | Quite a bit of dialogue in this chapter / Lucifer & Sandalphon / young crushes / OOC Lucilius **
> 
> The boys being cute, don't be fooled, this is still a BelialLucifer story.

Lucifer stopped paying attention to the book on his lap and aimlessly stared outside the window, to one of the garden labs, seeing the treetops sway gently in the breeze and the clouds drift away in the sky. The sun was nearlying its peak, almost lunch time, but he wasn’t feeling particularly hungry. 

It was odd for him to lose interest in his reading material but today his mind couldn’t concentrate on the task. Instead, worry filled his core and mind as he thought about the future that awaited him once he reaches adulthood, once he finalizes the training and studies. He was bound to become the Supreme Primarch and Overseer of the world and its evolution, an incredible important duty to have and Lucifer was beginning to stress about it. He was nowhere near to that breaking point and yet, he couldn’t stop wondering if he is up to that task. Lucilius and plenty of other Astrals, the council included, had nothing but praises to sing about his progress and has big expectations for Lucifer, but being the soft spoken and shy child he is, he rarely had the heart to tell them it scared him. He simply smiled and nodded. 

At times, Lucifer lost sleep while staring at the night sky, not necessarily thinking about his worries but unable to fall asleep thanks to it. Little things brought him comfort in the facilities but Belial’s presence was one of them. Lucilius was often out of reach for Lucifer to seek refuge in his arms and so, he relied on his friend when his core ached and his mind didn’t seem to stop. Lucifer prefered to be with Belial as well because he didn’t ask, he didn’t demand explanations or know what he was thinking, Belial simply let Lucifer ‘be’ and Lucifer appreciated and loved that, getting lost in Belial’s warmth until he had enough or felt better. Lucifer lost the count of how many times he fell asleep being embraced and held firmly by Belial’s small arms and cocooned with his wings.

Another thing that scared him was the massive responsibility the role of Supreme Primarch carried with it. Lucilius didn’t exactly explain in too many details what it entailed, perhaps because doing so now would be a waste of time for Lucifer was too young still to withhold all that information, but what he did say made the child ponder if he was really cut to the task, regardless of what his creator and the council says. Just because he was made that way didn’t mean he would come out the same, right? Belial’s purpose was ambiguous at best, neither he nor Lucifer understood exactly what the fallen was supposed to do, simply following the feelings in his gut and perhaps following Lucilius’ vague suggestions on what to work on next. The astral urged Belial to become a bit more wordy and a bit more daring, getting on people’s nerves but not quite, learning how to control the mood, how to deceive. Lucifer didn’t like that his friend had to become unlikeable because his creator said so, because he was made that way. Belial clearly had a hard time dealing with it. Would he grow into his purpose, his duty, as Lucifer should do as well? Maybe it was difficult now, maybe it would become much easier in the long run, but Lucifer couldn’t stop worrying.

And if a problem arises, was Lucifer going to have to deal with it alone? Would he have to impair judgement on his own? Will he have to take the decision himself? What if he makes a mistake? What if he does it wrong? What if Lucilius and the council are not pleased with his decision? What if-

Lucifer jumped on his seat, the soft knocking echoing in the room again as the child returned to the present. He closed the book still laying on his lap and looked up, finding a brown haired winged boy smiling widely at him from the other side of the window, tapping the glass with his fingers. Sandalphon wasn’t exactly the visit Lucifer wanted right now but he enjoyed his company nonetheless and a little distraction could make him feel better.

Once the window opened, the brown haired boy fell into Lucifer’s arms with a loud laugh, spinning around softly a few times before coming to a stop. 

“Feru!”, Sandalphon exclaimed happily. 

“Good morning, Sandalphon. How are you?”, Lucifer replied with a smile as well. 

“I’m bored!”

The little fallen flopped on the loveseat by the window, Lucifer closed it and sat next to him. Taking advantage of their positions, Sandalphon rested his head on the white-haired boy’s lap.

“What are you doing here?”, the brown haired boy asked.

“Studying.”, Lucifer resisted the urges to pet the dark feathery wings for he didn’t know if the other child would appreciate it. “Lucilius gave me books talking about plants and flowers.”

“Like the ones you made the other day?”

“Something like that. I’m studying fruit-bearing ones.”

“So, can you eat those?”

“Most of them, others have very bad side effects if you eat them.”

Sandalphon made a face and his wings quivered.

“Eugh… Wouldn’t it be nice if you could make juice with those instead...”

Lucifer pondered for a moment, recalling one in particular that came to mind.

“Lucilius told me they are experimenting with new species.”, leaving the love seat for a moment, and making Sandalphone whine, he walked towards some shelves and grabbed a box containing seeds. “Ah, here.”, and he showed them to the fallen. “Lucilius gave me these seeds, he told me to plant them but I forgot.”

“What kind of plant is it?”

“Uh, I don’t know.”, he shyly admitted. “Do you want to plant them and find out? They grow pretty fast in the garden.”

“We can!?”, Sandalphon exclaimed, standing on the loveseat, smiling wide. “We should do that now!”

“Oh, I can’t leave until I’m done.”, Lucifer explained. 

“Aw, how come? You are just reading. Reading gets boring, that’s why I sneaked out and came here.”, Sandalphon said, hands behind his back.

“You were studying too?”, Lucifer asked, the other nodded. “Shouldn’t you return to it? The astrals might get angry if you skip your lessons, I know Belial gets in trouble for it, I don’t want you to do the same.”

“It’s fine, it’s easy anyway.”, Sandalphon hopped from the loveseat and took the box of seeds in his hands. “They are all brown and small.”, he sniffed. “They smell… weird?”

“But not unpleasant, right?”, Lucifer added, smiling. “I hope the fruit is something we can use to make juice.”

Leaving the seeds aside, Sandalphon begun asking what had been Lucifer studying for, besides the plant stuff, since he had to read long and boring texts about the history of the world and he was already tired of it. He wanted to know more interesting things. Lucifer then retelled a little visit to a certain island, an island filled with a massive body of water called ‘ocean’ and sandy shores with clear skies and gentle, warm breeze. Lucilius took him and Belial for a little trip when they were a tad younger, perhaps a couple of years ago, Lucifer didn’t remember why they even went there in the first place, but Lucilius seemed eager to show them something in particular. It was still night time, that much he remembered, and Belial and him were running across the sand, collecting different shaped shells along the way. 

Sandalphon’s eyes opened wide, absorbed into the story, demanding to know what shells are, Lucifer explaining and describing the ones he saw back then, picking the book up once more and flipping through the pages as he talked, pointing at the many drawings of shells on the pages. He recalled Belial taking a few and storing them in his pockets, something about a ‘souvenir’, Lucilius smiled.

Lucifer fell silent, Sandalphon momentary too interested in the pictures to even notice.

Lucilius definitely had been caring in the past, the faint memory of the ocean told Lucifer as much. He recalled seeing the man smiling much more often during that trip, as if he were marveled at the life thriving on the island, at the creatures roaming on it, at the fishes swimming beneath the waves. He engaged with the boys a lot more, as well, Belial clinging to him and tugging at the robes to direct Lucilius to a specific area, Lucifer finding interesting things on his own and bringing them to the Astral and hearing his soft words when he explained what it was. The memory made Lucifer’s core feel fuzzy and warm, a smile forming on his lips. 

He wondered, then, why and when did Lucilius stopped caring.

Those following years they had it rough, Belial and Lucifer, and the white winged child couldn’t really understand the sudden change in personality within their creator, only that he didn’t like it. However, lately, Lucilius seemed to become much like he remembers in that island trip. What changed, again? Lucifer sighed, his creator really seemed like a fickle creature. Before, he wouldn’t have cared to know or try to understand how the boys felt, nowadays, it seemed to be his top priority, even more after the recent events with the council and the fallen. Lucifer didn’t dislike it, on the opposite, he was happy to feel that warmth radiating from Lucilius once more but some memories still hurt to let it go so easily. He hoped things smoothed out in the future. Lucifer took a quick glance at the window. Perhaps Helel could tell him more about Lucilius, he seemed to know the man better than Lucifer and Belial did.

A familiar voice coming from the hallway made Sandalphon’s hair and feathers bristle, looking around with panicked expression.

“Hi-Hide under the d-desk!”, Lucifer said quickly, the fallen obeying and scurrying underneath. 

The door to the study opened slightly, more voices were heard and Lucilius made his entrance with a stack of papers and other folders on his hands, Ark following right behind him as she dropped more piles of papers on a desk opposite to where Lucifer was currently sitting, a book opened in front of him.

“Aw, diligent as always with your studies, I see.”, the woman said, smiling. Then, she turned towards the other astral. “Anyway, this is all of it. I will handle the other half.”

“I will try to have it done by the end of the week, my fallen project takes priority, after all.”

“Tell that to the council.”, Ark said, laughing and waving at them before she exited and closed the door behind her.

“It’s past lunchtime, you don’t want anything to eat?”, Lucilius asked, rummaging through the piles of papers and folders and sighing. “You have been here all morning.”

“No, I’m not that hungry yet.”

Lucilius turned around, walking towards Lucifer’s desk and seeing nothing out of the ordinary. The boy looked up to his creator quizzically, tilting his head to the side, book momentarily forgotten. Then, a mischievous smirk appeared on Lucilius’ face and Lucifer gasped.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

“No-Notice wh-what?”, Lucifer shyly replied, looking away. “Wah! Lu-Lucilius, no!”

But the man was already kneeling down next to the boy and found a giggling little fallen underneath the desk, brown wings flapping happily as Sandalphon laughed under his breath, as if he tried too hard to stay still and pretend Lucilius wasn’t there.

“You found me!”, he cheerfully stated. “But I’m not going anywhere!”, added a moment later, frowning and trying to look menacing.

“Keep it down, be good and we have a deal.”, Lucilius said, standing up. “I have work to do, I don’t care if you stay as long as you aren’t too noisy about it.”

Surprisingly for the man, the little fallen listened to the conditions. Once Sandalphon crawled from under the desk, he flopped on a chair next to Lucifer and they both returned to their ocean and shell talk, about the plants and other things Lucifer had been reading about lately. 

The scene felt slightly odd but not unwelcome, Lucilius rarely has visitors in the study other than Lucifer and sometimes Belial, but the little fallen behaved well all things considered and he enjoyed listening to their little murmurs, trying to keep it quiet as the man said. Transcribing reports was always a task Lucilius hated but, today, he didn’t mind it so much. Something about it felt nostalgic and pleasant. 

“Feru, what do you think of us?”

Lucilius’ pen didn’t stop scratching the paper underneath, but his eyes took a quick glance at the boys in front of him, suddenly interested in what his creation had to say about the matter. It was rare for Lucifer to express his feelings even when asked about it.

“You mean the fallen?”, he asked, Sandalphon nodded. “I think you are all pretty nice, I like that Belial has new friends with him.”

“Why do you like Belial so much? He looks mean and is loud.”

“You are loud too.”, Lucifer countered, the little fallen giggled. “He’s not mean, for a long time it was just the two of us and gets a little jealous.”, he smiled. “Belial is really nice when you get to know him, I hope you can like him as much as I do.”

Sandalphon smirked, legs swinging back and forth, a rather playfully expression on his face Lucilius caught immediately. Suddenly, the man grew immensely curious about this whole thing too, wondering if Lucifer forgot he was there as well or just didn’t seem to care.

“So, you really _like_ him, yeah?”

Lucifer tilted his head to the side.

“I do.”

“But, reaaaaaaaaally like him? You really, really, _really_ like Belial?”, Sandalphon said, making emphasis in some words and leaning closer to the boy. 

“I… I do? I don’t know where are you going with this, Sandalphon.”

Lucifer seemed unfazed at the question but incredible confused.

“Okay, how about this?”, Sandalphon hummed. “Do you _love_ Belial?”

“Of course I do.”

But the answer made Sandalphon, and Lucilius, groan under their breath. He really was that dense.

_Do you really love me? Or are your feelings something the Omnipotent programmed into you?_

_I truly love you._

“You don’t seem to know what I’m talking about, right?”, Sandalphon said, a little disappointed.

“No, I’m sorry.”, Lucifer replied with an apologetic expression on his face. “Is there anyone you like, then?”

“Yup!”, the little fallen chirped. “Azazel!”

“Azazel? He doesn’t seem like he does.”

“He’s stubborn, he cries and says sorry if he is mean to me. It’s cute!”

“How can you be so sure?”

_How do you know? How can you know they are your emotions and not… and not…_

_Because I betrayed as well, didn’t I? Just to be with you._

_That doesn’t mean…_

“Olivia likes to pick on me sometimes and she is stronger than me, so Azazel has to step in so she leaves me alone.”, Sandalphon says. “When I feel sad and lonely he cuddles with me, his feathers are so soft! I like his wings the best!”

“Better than mine?”, Lucifer dared.

“Mm, your wings are very soft, but Aza’s are better!”, the little fallen declared. “You touched them, didn’t you? You know how nice they are.”, he giggled, blushing. 

_Everything was programmed unto us! How can you be so sure it is your ‘heart’ speaking!?_

“I really, really, _really_ like Aza.”, the little fallen admitted, blushing deeply. “I want to stay with him for-e-ver!”, he giggled. “Do you want to stay with Belial forever too?”

“Yes! That sounds nice.”, Lucifer said, much more eagerly than he expected. “He’s going to be my ad… adjutant…”

“Oh! That means he always will be at your side!”

The white winged boy blushed faintly, his wings quivering happily. He liked that idea.

_I will be here, at your side, for as long as it takes, forever._

_How… How do I know, then…?_

_But, you always knew, right? Your feelings…_

“That would make me happy.”, Lucifer whispered, taking the book on his hands again. “Say, do you want to go back to studying? I’m… a bit tired of talking.”

“Aw, alright! But I wanna know more about the world! What can you show me?”

How odd that memories Lucilius thought to be forgotten and over with slowly resurfaced while listening to their innocent talk about their young love, out of all the possible ways he had to recall them, _this_ was the one that made him falter. His chest ached with emotions and a lingering pain that never went away as he hoped, a pain mixed with the warmth of a golden dawn and a pair of strong arms around him.

He remembers that trip to Auguste, when Belial and Lucifer were a few years younger than they are today. He didn’t know either why he felt the sudden need to bring them to that particular island, he felt a tug and he brought them there to explore, to learn. He wanted them to see the sun rising at the horizon, above the ocean, slowly painting the night skies with pinks and yellows and soft oranges as dawn broke into the skies. And they loved it, sitting side by side, in silence and in awe, at the marvelous display of colors. The trip had been a few months after they were awakened, after they were finished. It felt nostalgic, even then, even now, to bring them like he did, to be in direct contact with a world he once helped to shape alongside his other half, alongside a master he once revered and trusted and followed blindly.

A proof of existence? Lucilius almost laughed at the thought.

Those times were, despite what happened and the time that has passed, something Lucilius still holds dear in the back of his mind, moments he cherished but were overshadowed by his thirst for revenge, his anger, his bitterness, moments he had completely forgotten but now are resurfacing slowly, little by little, the more he interacts with his own creations.

This wasn’t supposed to happen, he didn’t want it to be this way, he thought he buried all of that deep within his mind, his heart, why were they flourishing now, of all times? Lucilius hated that he didn’t seem to dislike them either. 

Yes, he might have been happy a long, long, long time ago but not today, not now.

Lucilius sighed, pen standing still between fingertips and papers waiting underneath it, words not looking like words at all, as he mused.

His feelings were real, his anger was real, he had a right to be angry. It was not just him, Helel too. They were allowed to feel anger at their own creator, at what happened, right?

The astral looked at the younglings, blissfully ignorant at the turmoil in Lucilius’ heart.

He can’t deny it anymore, he is certainly content right now, with Lucifer and Belial at his side, even Helel if he couldn’t see him all that much. He was feeling a little bit of happiness once more and for some reason, he feared it. The last time it happened, everything crumbled down and vanished from beneath his feet.

His plan, on the other hand....

No, he has to stick to it, he has to make this work.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A hug and some cuddles can make it all better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Extra Tags: Lots of cuddles and huggles | BeliFer being cute together | Young crushes | OOC Lucilius (as always)**
> 
> GW was a pain in the butt and then I got sick but hey, here's more! Bit of a filler, but I realized I didn't really dig too much into Belial and Lucifer being cute with each other so I fixed it with this chapter.

"Fwah! Faa didn't have to be so rough on us like that!", Belial complained, flopping down on his bed and giving a comforting sigh as his head burrowed on the soft pillows, his sore wings sprawling all over. "Ugh, who would have thought he was that physically strong? He looks like a twig but sure can punch like Uriel..."

"I'm sure Faa can punch _harder_ than Uriel...", Lucifer replied, sitting on the edge of his own bed, visible exhausted too.

It had been an odd day for the boys. Their creator called on them for a little exercise he wanted to do. Curious and ready to act, they followed the man to one of the familiar rooms used for sparring, finding it completely empty. As soon as they arrived, Lucilius discarded his robes and stood in front of them with staff in had and just his bodysuit. The boys looked at each other, confused, then to their smirking creator whom told them to use all of their wits and power to *try* make him kneel.

It was a surprise for them, to say the least, as they rarely seen Lucilius impart in physical activities as sparring. In fact, the man had never really shown to have _any_ kind of physical prowess at all and asking for a match with his creations was indeed puzzling. The only reason behind such thing was Lucilius simply wanting to test himself, on flesh and bones, the results of their training.

Lucifer argued there were better ways to test that but Lucilius didn't yield. He wanted to feel for himself the kind of powers his creations developed in the span of the last five years or so. Belial puffed his chest and was the first one to rush at the Astral, whereas Lucifer still had doubts but eventually joined his friend and had the time of his life.

These moments were quite rare for them.

Lucilius hardly had time off, or even days off, and the little time he did get it was spent either snoozing on his desk or disappearing for a couple of hours. Lucifer and Belial understood the urgency of his work, of the uttermost concentration he has to give it and while Lucilius tries hard to make time for the boys, sometimes they miss him. Lately that had been the case and the man used this as an excuse to be alone with them and engage in something they enjoyed. He knew they both liked books and reads but Belial grows bored easy and so does Lucifer, even if he doesn't verbally express it. Knowing them more than he did in the past, Lucilius figured exercising was a good way to not just see, indeed, how their powers had evolved, but to form a bond as well.

The fallen started showing good results with their weekly group training, Belial was beginning to open up a bit more towards his brethren and, in turn, they were starting to see him as the leader he is supposed to be, acknowledging the hierarchy, and had begun seeking his advice for studying and training. Belial denied it whenever the chance, but Lucilius knew he was happy the other children were enjoying him instead of belittling and pushing him away. The only thing now was to try with the primarchs, who for some reason kept disliking the fallen, but at least Gabriel seemed to show much more interest in befriending and, hopefully, the rest follows suit. Belial didn't seem to want to know them better aside from the water primarch and Lucilius pondered if he really should push further for the sake of it or let them be.

And so, Lucilius ended the sparring match, that lasted for the entirely of the day, completely spent, sweaty, dirty and bruised but with a big smile on his face. He pushed the white bangs from his face and saw with satisfaction the same kind of smiles on the exhausted boys on the floor. It definitely was a good idea and Lucilius made a mental reminder to do it more often. But, for now, it was better for them to return to their rooms and bathe.

"We should bathe together!", Belial suggested, smiling.

"Maybe next time.", Lucilius replied, taking the robes in his arms. "I know, I'm also smelly and sweaty but I can't let it pass to annoy Beelzebub with my bodily hodors he hates oh so much in the evening meeting."

"Is he bothering you again?", Lucifer asked with a concerned look on his face.

"...a little more than usual, I will admit.", the man seemed reluctant in giving away more information.

"I'll kick his butt in no time, watch me!", Belial growled. "You said you weren't interested and pursuing further courtship should be considered an offense!!"

"...it _is_ an offense, but yes, he's been more adamant in his advances.", Lucilius sighed, closing his eyes. "I hardly can do anything about it, he is with the council after all."

"Power abuse!", Belial shouted, wings quivering in anger.

"I appreciate your sentiment, Belial.", Lucilius smiled, petting the fallen's head and then cupping his face. "But this is... well, 'adult things' I have to take care of. Don't worry about me."

With no more to say about it, the Astral told them to return to their rooms and wash right away. Hugging and kissing both of them shortly afterwards, Lucilius departed with a rather defeated expression on his face the boys managed to pick up before the man disappeared behind the door.

As soon as the boys returned to their dorm, Belial resumed fuming about Beelzebub's unwanted attention and how he will pick up a fight with him when he is older and stronger to take someone of his size, gritting his fangs and flapping sore wings with equal energy.

"And-And when I do...! I will show him!", Belial huffed angrily, biting on the pillow underneath him. "You don't mess with Faa like that! He said no! What part of no does idiot 'bubs doesn't understand!", he winced in pain when a muscle pulled on his back. "Owowowowow!"

"Stop thrashing around like that, you will make it worse.", Lucifer said, concerned as he approached his friend. "Ah, I have an idea..."

Belial shot a puzzled look at Lucifer and saw the boy take off his boots and climb on the bed to sit next to him, extending his hands and taking a handful of wings between them and placing said wings on his lap, making Belial's face flush with a deep red. With words choked in his throat, the boy hid into the pillow, digging his clawed fingers on the sides, core thumping and swirling with too many emotions and some of them Belial wasn't sure what they were. A quick glance at the white haired boy and the fallen's face grew even redder.

Lucifer held a peaceful expression, a soft shine around his body was present as he used his powers to help alleviate the soreness of Belial's wings and begin healing him as well. The feathers and even his hair seemed to billow softly to an invisible wind in the room, a pleasant warmth reaching Belial. He tried hard to control his impulses, to keep his body from jumping at the need of wanting to drown into it.

Why was Lucifer so warm, so gentle? Belial couldn't understand but he loved all of it, and he wanted more.

It was also the first time Belial seen Lucifer like this. The white haired boy rarely displays his powers in this manner unless told by Lucilius or other Astral, and he did so unprompted at all.

It seems that Lucifer does care, it seems he likes Belial enough to do this.

He always thought people didn't like him, Lucifer and Lucilius were no exceptions, and when he realized it wasn't that way he was told that he shouldn't hog their attention and time like that. He was slightly confused at that. If he really, really like Lucifer, why couldn't he stay at his side *all* the time? Why was that wrong? Belial sighed, Lucilius' words from that time echoed in his head once more.

Belial hummed softly, warmth and strange feelings momently forgotten as he mused.

It was hard, very hard, to let Lucifer go, respect the freedom that is rightfully his, to see him wandering and sometimes choosing to stay with Sandalphon or Azazel over him, of sparring with Uriel or quietly talking with Raphael instead of sneaking around the facilities together. Despite all, Lucifer comes back to him at the end of the day to have a little talk before going to bed. That has to mean something, right? Bright red eyes took another quick glance at the child next to him. Lucifer doesn't belong to him, he only belongs to himself.

But Belial supposed it was alright to show Lucifer how much the white haired boy means to him from time to time.

A mischievous smile appeared on his face, thinking about the possibilities but halting when his core thumped and those feelings returned, overwhelming his senses and making his face grow hot and red when Lucifer's powers intensified, making able to feel them all thought his body, hiding his face in the pillow once more, trembling... of what? He didn't know but he wasn't sure how to respond either.

"Bel, are you alright?", Lucifer asked suddenly, making the fallen jerk away softly. "Oh, sorry. Do you want me to stop?"

The fallen looked at those eyes with the color of the sky, round face and a fluffy hair he absolutely likes to run his fingers in it and make it even fluffier. At the featherly wings he likes to drag his face and lay on until he falls asleep. He adored many things about Lucifer, his core swelled in feelings he could no longer control.

Suddenly, the boy launched himself onto Lucifer's arms and pushed him against the pillows, tightly hugging and hiding his face on his chest, wings curling on themselves and blocking Belial's form from sight.

"Bel? Why are you trembling like this?", Lucifer seemed unaffected by the sudden outburst from his friend and was more worried if he had done something to upset Belial. "Did I hurt you? Was it too much?"

"No, it-it's fine.", the fallen replied in a whisper. Why was his core aching and his gut feeling funny? It was annoying. "Isitokifistaylikethis"

"...what?"

"C-Can I stay like this!?", Belial shouted, digging his fingers into Lucifer's back, holding in like his life depended on it, as if the other boy would suddenly disappear.

"Yes, I don't mind.", Lucifer smiled. "Are you comfortable, though?"

Belial's face flushed and he snuggled closer.

"I am."

The core continued with its thumping but Belial soon enough managed to ignore it completely once he focused on Lucifer's warmth and powers seeping into his body a second time, wings laid completely stretched over the bed as the soreness was now gone.

Much like the sparring session they got with Lucilius, Belial realized he missed this kind of things with Lucifer. Before the fallen project began, the two of them would spend hours studying together or holed up in their room together for the entire day, just play-fighting like they always did. However, once the fallens were introduced they started having less time to meet and when they do, it was related to the project or something else, not because they wanted. It wasn't fair, he wanted to stay at Lucifer's side and plenty of Astrals, Lucilius included, said he would once they grow up into their roles, but if their roles were so busy and strict like this, Belial didn't want anything to do with it. Maybe he could convince his creator to rethink his plans and let him choose whatever he wants to do instead of forcing him into it.

"Feru...?", Belial called softly, small fingers and hands stopped moving and were simply placed on his back, between the wings.

"Yes?", blue eyes opened slowly.

"Will you stay with me? Even... Even when we grow up, and become Deputy and Supreme Primarch, will you stay with me?"

_Do you love Belial?_

_Of course I do._

Somehow, listening to Belial's request made Lucifer's core feel warm and fuzzy, a smile forming on his lips.

"You will be my adjutant, I will always be with you.", the boy replied, snuggling to the fallen, wings relaxing and draping over them like blankets.

"But, Faa says what we are doing now is what we will be doing when we grow up and I barely see you...", Belial whined, curling up and covering himself with his own wings. "I don't want you to go anywhere."

"I won't. Faa doesn't go anywhere, even if he has a lot of work to do."

"We miss him a lot, though. I miss... I miss you a lot too when... when you are away."

"It is not really the same without you around, yeah."

"See?", Belial raised his head, a pinkish color remaining on his cheeks. "What if we tell Faa to give us other purpose? That is not... so strict with our time, I guess.", he flopped down again on his friend and gave one, long deep sigh. "Don't think that will work, not even if _you_ ask him."

Lucifer didn't know what to say to that. The thought of fulfilling his purpose was scary, of growing up and facing responsibility, but didn't necessarily dislike it, not even when he also shared Belial's feelings on the matter. Whenever he had to stay on this facility wing to help Lucilius and the other astrals working on the primarchs, he missed Belial a lot but treasured the little time he spends with him before going to bed. It's true they were busy now but perhaps that was because they were still in training and there was a lot they had to learn. Maybe once they become adults, they can balance between work and play and have much more time to themselves. If not, well, Lucifer believes Lucilius wont have too much of a problem if he moves a bit closer to the fallen wing.

Lucifer moved around a bit and dropped so he could rest his head on Belial's, hugging him tightly.

"I don't... I don't dislike my purpose.", he admitted. "I want to become the Supreme Primarch, I want to do what I was born for. I'm sure we will find time to see each other and play like we do."

Thoughts of Helel and Lucilius sitting at that magical window flooded Lucifer's mind, of how Lucilius' face would bright up upon seeing Helel come into view, of how Helel offers his warmest smiles to the astral, of how they sit and talk to each other as if time didn't mean a thing to them, how they make the most of that small moment to make their parting not as bittersweet as it actually is. He didn't think his and Belial's situation was too bad, because it truly wasn't, Helel's and Lucilius' circumstances were a bit complicated as he was told, and Belial was still within his reach. The boy didn't think it will be too much of an issue, but he understood Belial's fears and doubts because he, too, had them at some point before meeting Helel. If his creator and spouse could make time to see each other, even if it was a blink of an eye in two separated dimensions, Lucifer and Belial could make it work within the same space, or so Lucifer thinks.

"I know something you don't.", Lucifer said suddenly, figuring Belial has yet to meet Helel. Perhaps he will change his views of the matter once he finds out his creator's predicament.

"Oh~? What is it?", this, of course, perked Belial's curiosity and raised his head again, red eyes glistering and demanding to know more. "Is it something juicy?"

"Perhaps."

"About 'Bubs? Let's drag him!"

Lucifer giggled and shook his head.

"Well... About Faa, then?", Lucifer nodded, Belial gasped. "Woah! Okay, it _gotta_ be something huge for you to know and not me!"

"And why is that?"

"...Well, 'cus... I walk around the facility all day snooping around other astral's business.", he blushed in embarrassment, then grinned. "That's what I'm good at! Getting juicy details!", he giggled. "Come on, don't leave me hanging! Tell me!"

"Faa has a spouse."

"...No, he does not."

"He does."

"You are joking."

"I am not."

"You are!!", Belial's eyes widen at the words.

"Would I lie to you?"

"But... But it's _Faa_. It's _'Cilius_, ya know... And I don't think it's 'Bubs.", the fallen gasped, horrified. "It's not 'Bubs, right? Please tell me it's not him!"

Lucifer laughed softly, humming and hugging Belial closer, rubbing his face against the silky dark locks of his. The other boy's face turned into an apple an instant later.

"No.", the white haired boy replied. "His name is Helel."

"I don't remember anyone called like that in the facilities. Are you sure Faa has a spouse?"

"I walked into them on accident, I haven't met him again yet so far because I don't know if Faa will like it. I'm sure Helel will like to meet you too.", Lucifer suggested. "He's a nice man, he's really pretty."

"And how does he look like?", Belial asked, admitelly curious about this whole new information about his creator.

"Mm, it's strange. He actually looks like Faa but less tired and angry? He has long, blonde hair and a warm smile and gentle eyes. Their faces are almost identical but I've seen him up close, and they are not that samey.", Lucifer explained in broad details. "I actually want to see Helel again... Do you want to meet him too?"

Belial made a noise, thinking. This was weird, if Lucilius didn't mention anything about a spouse to them and still kept quiet despite Lucifer finding it out, it meant Lucilius didn't want them to know in the first place. However, the fallen was really interested in knowing his creator better and perhaps talking with this strange man would clear things for Belial.

"Should we ask him first, though?"

"To Faa? I guess... I don't want him to tell us no, though."

"Maybe you should ask him then, he hardly tells you no.", Belial suggested, yawning. "So, is there anything else about this Helel?"

"He lives in a different dimension,'' Lucifer said, Belial nodded, yawning a second time. "Ah, you can't go to sleep yet! We haven't bathed!"

Belial groaned, clinging closer to Lucifer.

"I don't care... I will wash in the morning.", he closed his eyes, wings entwining with the featherly ones. "Come on, keep telling me about this dude."

And he did, but by the time the white haired boy finished three sentences, Belial had drifted into a deep sleep. Lucifer smiled, realizing he was growing sleepy as well, glancing at the clock and seeing it was past eleven or so. Lucifer yawned, curling and adjusting against the pillows without disturbing Belial's dreams as he did so. The wings quivered and shifted around, blanketing the fallen between his arms in a sea of feathers. It was a bit of a weird position to sleep in, uncomfortable even, but it felt nice to be together again like this.


End file.
